Equity mutual funds deploy Rs 3,339 crore in June

Local equity mutual funds have deployed Rs 3,339 crore in June, the highest in a month since 2008. This follows a major turnaround after investors withdrew close to Rs 52,000 crore from such schemes in the past two years, show Bloomberg data.

According to market experts, these inflows indicate a pick-up in retail investor interest, which was missing during earlier market rallies.

"Investors who were indecisive about investing in markets have begun deploying their money," said a domestic funds manager, who did not want to be named. He also sees investors returning to systematic investment plans.



"In some regions, we have inflows into SIPs almost doubling." The biggest reason, according to him, is the ongoing market rally that took the Sensex to an all-time high. In June, MF investments equalled 30 per cent of the money put in by foreign institutional investors. That contrasts with the recent trend.

In the past nine months, FIIs have poured in $16 billion while MFs have withdrawn $3 billion. In fact, only on five other occasions since 2000, more than Rs 3,300 crore had come into MF equity schemes in a month.