Equity mutual funds inflows slip 6% to Rs 28,054 cr in Dec

New Delhi: Equity mutual funds attracted Rs 28,054 crore in December, marking a decline of over 6 per cent from the preceding month, according to data released by industry body Amfi on Friday.

The easing of equity inflows coincided with a marginal contraction in the mutual fund industry's overall asset base with the total Assets Under Management (AUM) slipping to Rs 80.23 lakh crore in December from Rs 80.80 lakh crore in November, reflecting the impact of heavy withdrawals from debt schemes.

Overall, the mutual fund industry reported net outflows of Rs 66,591 crore during the month, largely on account of steep redemptions from debt schemes, even as equity and gold funds continued to draw investor interest, the data showed.

While equity inflows softened sequentially from Rs 29,911 crore in November, though it remained higher than Rs 24,690 crore in October.

Most equity sub-categories continued to see positive traction in December, barring dividend yield and ELSS (equity-linked saving schemes) funds.

Flexi-cap funds emerged as the top performer with net inflows of Rs 10,019 crore, up from Rs 8,135 crore in November, highlighting their growing appeal in uncertain market conditions.

This was followed by mid-cap funds at Rs 4,176 crore, large & mid-cap funds at Rs 4,094 crore and small-cap funds at Rs 3,824 crore. Besides, large-cap funds attracted inflows of Rs 1,567 crore.

In contrast, ELSS and dividend yield funds recorded net outflows of Rs 718 crore and Rs 254 crore, respectively, pointing to profit-booking and seasonal tax-related adjustments.

On the other hand, debt mutual funds witnessed a massive outflow of Rs 1.32 lakh crore in December, compared with net outflows of Rs 25,692 crore in November, dragging the overall industry into negative territory.

Amid this divergence, investors also showed renewed interest in safe-haven assets. Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows surge to Rs 11,647 crore in December, sharply higher than Rs 3,742 crore in November and Rs 7,743 crore in October.