Mutual fund inflow rises 43 per cent to Rs 1.4 lakh cr in Q1: Amfi

New Delhi: Investors have pumped Rs 1.4 lakh crore into mutual fund (MF) schemes in April-June quarter this fiscal, a surge of 43 per cent from the year-ago period, driven by strong participation from retail investors.

According to Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi) data, the inflow has also helped in pushing the assets base of the 42-player MF industry to Rs 23.40 lakh crore at the end of June this year, an increase of 20 per cent from Rs 20.40 lakh crore in June-end 2017.

The investor awareness campaign, 'Mutual Funds Sahi Hai', being run by Amfi under Sebi guidance, has generated a lot of interest among potential investors, who are now looking at MFs as a preferred investment option, Amfi Chief Executive NS Venkatesh said.

He further said, "MFs will continue to see strong inflows, despite the recent volatility. Inflows through systematic investment plan (SIP) from retail investors and flows from B30 (small) cities continue to remain robust".

According to the data, investors poured in a net of Rs 1,33,903 crore in MF schemes in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, as compared to Rs 93,400 crore in the April-June period of 2017-18.

The latest inflow has been mainly driven by contributions from liquid funds and equity schemes.

Individually, liquid funds or money market category -- investments in cash assets such as treasury bills, certificates of deposit and commercial paper for shorter horizon -- witnessed an inflow of Rs 1.22 lakh crore. Besides, equity schemes attracted close to Rs 33,000 crore.

However, income funds saw an outflow of over Rs 38,000 crore. In addition, gold ETFs continued to see net outflow of Rs 146 crore.

Kaustubh Belapurkar, Director - Manager Research at Morningstar, said flows into equity funds remain strong through the year. Despite markets being volatile since the start of 2018, investors are taking a long term view in equities.

"SIPs continue to be strong contributor with the monthly SIP numbers currently standing at Rs 7,300 crore. We expect this trend to continue going forward as investors are starting to acknowledge the long-term wealth-creation potential of equities," he added.

SIP is an investment vehicle that allows investors to invest in small amounts periodically instead of lump sum. The frequency of investment is usually weekly, monthly or quarterly.