Equity MFs see Rs 734-cr net outflows in September

Open ended equity-oriented schemes saw net outflows in September, the third straight month of outflows. The data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) show equity funds saw net outflows of Rs 734.40 crore in September, compared to net outflows of Rs 3,999.62 crore and Rs 2,480.35 crore in August and July, respectively.

Market participants say while redemptions came down in September compared to August, gross inflows improved considerably in the past few months. G Pradeepkumar, CEO, Union AMC, says, “The mobilisation from open-ended equity funds is the highest in the current financial year. I believe that investors who were waiting on the sidelines have started investing in equity mutual funds and that could be one of the reasons for slowing down of equity outflows in September.”

In September, the Sensex and Nifty gave negative returns of 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.

Amfi data show that funds mobilised from open-ended equity schemes in September stood at Rs 16,951.79 crore, the highest in the current financial year. In the first five months of FY21, funds mobilized from open-ended equity schemes were in the range of Rs 13,000-14,500 crore. Even redemptions, which were at Rs 18,557.82 crore in August, came down to Rs 17,686.20 crore in September.

Inflows into systematic investments plans (SIPs) remained flat in September compared to August. Inflows through SIP stood at Rs 7,788.37 crore in September, compared to Rs 7,791.63 crore in August.

Sunil Subramaniam, MD at Sundaram Mutual, says, “We have seen positive interest from new fund offers (NFOs) and even new investors are investing in mutual funds. Overall, we are witnessing improvements in the flows.” However, he added that SIPs will take some more time to pick up and one must be patient.

In September, the multi-cap category saw highest net outflows of Rs 1,143.86 crore in open-ended equity-oriented schemes. Large-cap and mid-cap funds saw outflows of Rs 576.09 crore and Rs 67.61 crore, respectively. Focused funds, thematic funds and small-cap funds saw inflows during the month.

Net outflows were seen even in the open-ended oriented schemes at Rs 51,962.16 crore, led by liquid funds which had seen outflows of Rs 65,951.79 crore in September.