Equity MF inflows rise 19% to Rs 29,329 crore in August; SIPs hit record high

Mumbai: Investors increased their equity mutual fund purchases in August by 19% adding ₹29,329 crore, while collections through systematic investment plan (SIPs) reached an all- time high of ₹32,297 crore.

This marks the 66th month of positive inflows.

The fixed income category saw a reversal in August 2026, recording marginal net outflows of ₹8,711 crore, compared with net inflows of ₹1.87 lakh crore in July.

During August the number of new SIPs added stood at 6.64 million, while the stoppages stood at 5.4 million, taking the SIP stoppage ratio to 81.1%, slightly lower than July's 81.9%.

Total assets under management (AUM) of the industry rose marginally to ₹87.07 lakh crore higher by 1.5% over July's 85.75 lakh crore.

Investments into equity mutual funds were led by mid and small cap funds with these categories cornering ₹14,962 crore or 51% of the total net flows compared to ₹13,960 crore or 56% of total net flows in the previous month.

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"The continued preference for small-cap and mid-cap funds indicates investors desire to participate in the broader opportunity across corporate India," says Saugata Chatterjee, president and deputy CEO, Nippon India Mutual Fund.

Besides mid and small caps, flexicap strategies garnered ₹5,059 crore higher than the previous month's ₹4,709, while multicap funds added ₹3,732 crore compared to Julys ₹3,227 crore.

However, large cap funds saw outflows of ₹1,147 crore compared to ₹1,322 crore in the previous month, as investors reduced their exposure to large cap funds given the low returns in the last couple of years. Thematic funds saw inflows of ₹1,766 crore, lower than the previous months ₹1,328 crores.

Among hybrid strategies, aggressive hybrid funds which invest about 65-80% in equities and 20-35% in fixed income saw investors added ₹1,323 crore compared to ₹1,986 crore in the previous month. Other categories like multi asset allocation funds also added ₹3,671 crore lower than ₹3,753 crore in July, while arbitrage funds added ₹3,789 crore lower than Julys ₹6,502 crore.

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Debt funds saw outflows of ₹8,127 crore compared to inflows of ₹1.88 lakh crore in the previous month.

"The swing was primarily driven by withdrawals from liquidity-oriented categories, particularly Overnight Funds, and appears largely reflective of corporate and institutional treasury movements rather than a broad-based deterioration in investor appetite for fixed income," says Himanshu Srivastava, principal, Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India

Liquid funds saw inflows of ₹19,934, while money market funds saw inflows of ₹11,735 crore, However overnight funds saw outflows of ₹30,654 crore and short term funds saw outflows of ₹4,259 crore.

Gold ETFs saw inflows of ₹2,597 crore higher than Julys ₹1,559 crore amidst renewed investor and preference for the asset class as macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties continued to persist.