The asset under management (AUM) of equity schemes dipped for the first time in the last year, even as inflows jumped 22 per cent last month to ₹41,887 crore, against ₹34,419 crore logged in September.

The overall equity funds’ asset was down 4 per cent to ₹29.89 lakh crore (₹31.10 lakh crore) last month, largely due to mark-to-market losses, with bellwether indices such as Sensex and Nifty losing 5-6 per cent amid heavy selling by foreign institutional investors(FIIs).

However, investors used the fall in market valuation to invest more across different schemes, and all equity schemes received positive inflows. Thematic funds registered the highest inflow of ₹12,279 crore (₹13,255 crore) due to four new fund offers collecting ₹3,517 crore.

Flexi cap funds saw an inflow of ₹5,180 crore (up from ₹3,215 crore), followed by large and mid-cap funds with ₹4,857 crore (up from ₹3,598 crore). Mid-cap and small-cap funds attracted a net inflow of ₹4,683 crore (₹3,130 crore) and ₹3,772 crore (₹3,071 crore), respectively.

‘A stark reversal’

Santosh Joseph, Co-founder and CEO, Germinate Investor Services, said that while equity inflows were earlier buoyed by strong market performance, last month saw a stark reversal with a sharp fall in key indices, similar to the declines registered during Covid-19 Pandemic.

Despite these challenging conditions, the confidence of retail investors is a real sign of their maturing approach to equities, he added.

Inflows through SIP touched an all-time high of ₹25,323 crore (₹24,509 crore) in October.

The AUM of hybrid schemes were also down to ₹8.73 lakh crore (₹8.74 lakh crore) due to market turbulence. However, inflows were higher at ₹16,863 crore (₹4,901 crore).

Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive, AMFI, said the fall in equity assets is a minor blip and will not have much impact going ahead as the macro economy continue to remain resilient in the long run.

“Investors’ faith in mutual investment remains intact and they will benefit from market recovery after the US elections,” he added.

The inflows into debt schemes bounced back to ₹1.57 lakh crore (outflow of ₹1.14 lakh crore) with most schemes registering a positive inflows.

Ashwini Kumar, Senior Vice President and Head Market Data, ICRA Analytics, said the surge in equity inflows was despite the broad-based sell-off across sectors as fears of a full-fledged war between Iran and Israel impacted investors’ risk appetite. Losses were extended as sentiment was dented following muted earnings in September quarter reported by major domestic companies, he added.