Equity mutual funds lose another six lakh folios in the first half of this fiscal.
From 3.92 crore folios as at end March 2010, the total number of equity folios came down to 3.86 crore folios. However, the debt folios have seen an increase of 3.8 lakh or nine per cent, in folios during the same period.
Nothing unusual
Fund analysts feel there is nothing unusual about the decline as the folios are on a decline, particularly the equity. “A large number of small investors who came into the industry around 2007-08 have walked out of the equity schemes disappointed,” said Mr Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research.
“This fiscal has seen a lot of consolidation of schemes which has probably led to a decrease in the number of folios in the equity schemes,” said Mr Vikaas Sachdeva, CEO, Edelweiss Mutual Fund. “Also, there is now an overall acceptance of debt as an asset class,” he added.
However, not all analysts adhere to this explanation as they believe that the chances of the same bunch of investors being part of the merged schemes are highly unlikely.
Fund house officials, however, say that the number of SIP folios in the industry has seen a steady rise. According to one fund house official, there are about 75 lakh SIP folios in the industry and they bring in close to Rs 1,200 crore a month. However, the analysts say that the creation of SIP folios does not amount to an increase in the total number of folios.
The total number of folios in the industry is 4.71 crore, down by 62,413 folios from 4.72 crore as at end March. However, in the last one year period, the number of folios has risen from 4.69 crore, as at end September 2010 to 4.71 crore as at end September 2011.