Equity mutual fund assets base doubles to Rs 3 lakh crore

NEW DELHI: The asset base of equity mutual funds has almost doubled to more than Rs 3 lakh crore till February-end on the back of retail investors pouring money into these schemes.

The industry's equity assets under management (AUM) rose from Rs 1.57 lakh crore in February 2014 to Rs 3.07 lakh crore in February this year, according to Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

Industry experts said equity markets have delivered positive returns which attracted retail investors into such schemes.

"There has been change in sentiment over the past few months, especially after the general election's verdict in May.

"We are witnessing a trend where more and more investors are coming back into financial assets. Positive investment returns have also attracted investors into equity segment," said an industry expert.

Further, since April, equity schemes have witnessed a fund infusion of over Rs 61,000 crore.

Inflow in equity schemes have helped the 45 mutual funds to cross Rs 12 lakh crore mark in assets under management (AUM) at the end of February.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex has climbed 31 per cent in the first 11 months (April-February) of the current fiscal.

Besides, many investors are moving away from poor performing asset classes such as gold.

Gold ETFs have seen an outflow of Rs 1,354 crore so far in this fiscal.

Mutual fund is an investment vehicle with a pool of funds collected from investors to buy securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.