Equity MF inflows hit 1-yr high of Rs 6,505 cr in August

Equity mutual funds witnessed an inflow of Rs 6,505 crore in August, making it the highest in a year, mainly on account of optimistic investor sentiment.

This also marks the fifth straight month of positive inflow in equity schemes. Prior to that, such funds had witnessed a pull out of Rs 1,370 crore in March.

"Equity inflows are on a 1-year high because of positive climate and optimistic environment in both equity and debt markets. A slew of factors contributing to this buoyancy are well spread monsoon, better corporate results, smooth progress on GST Bill and positive data coming from US economy," Bajaj Capital Group CEO and Director Anil Chopra said.

"Also, monthly SIP (systematic investment plans) book has crossed 1 crore SIPs and monthly net contributions through SIP alone is over Rs 3,000 crore leading to higher positive net inflows in equity markets," he added.

Besides, sluggish trends in real estate sector is also attracting investors to equity schemes, Chopra said.

According to the data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), equity funds, which also include equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) saw net inflow of Rs 6,505 crore last month.

This was the highest net inflow since August 2015, when equity mutual funds (MF) witnessed an inflow of Rs 9,156 crore.

In comparison, equity funds had seen net inflow of Rs 2,506 crore in the preceding month.

With the latest inflow, total mobilisation in equity schemes has reached to Rs 18,490 crore in the ongoing financial year (April-August).

The robust inflow has pushed the assets under management (AUM) of equity mutual fund to a record high of Rs 4.67 lakh crore at the end of August from Rs 4.5 lakh crore in July-end.

Mutual Funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors. The funds are invested in stocks, bonds and money market instruments, among others.