New SIP registrations fall 20%, stoppage ratio climbs to 116% in October after 5-month decline

The number of new SIPs declined 20% to 50.68 lakh in October from 63.26 lakh in September, whereas the number of SIPs discontinued/tenure completed jumped 19% to 59.12 lakh in the same period compared to 49.68 lakh in September; as a result, the stoppage ratio jumped to 116.65% in the same period, according to the monthly data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

The data also highlighted that the October increase reversed the five-month declining trend in the SIP stoppage ratio. After standing at 101.14% in April, the ratio fell to 95.46% in May, 91.23% in June, 81.87% in July, 81.05% in August and a low of 78.53% in September 2026.

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How to read the SIP stoppage ratio and why it matters to investors

The SIP stoppage ratio is the number of discontinued SIPs compared to the number of new registered SIPs. If this ratio crosses 100% then it indicates that more mutual fund SIPs are being stopped than the ones started.

However, one must keep in mind that stoppage ratio also includes those SIPs that have expired. Besides, investors may have simply switched from one SIP to another as part of their portfolio reshuffle.

“The mutual fund industry recorded net inflows of Rs 1.74 lakh crore in October, taking the assets under management to Rs 83.39 lakh crore, up 0.9% month on month. The industry added a net 15.80 lakh folios, taking the total to 28.78 crore. Equity mutual funds received net inflows of Rs 32,994 crore, marking the 68th consecutive month of positive net flows,” said Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive, AMFI.

“Investor participation remained resilient, with nearly 10 crore SIP accounts contributing Rs 32,160 crore in October, an 8.9% increase year-on-year. This marked the third consecutive month of SIP contributions exceeding Rs 32,000 crore

The number of contributing SIP accounts stood at 9.99 crore in October 2026. SIP assets stood at Rs 17.68 lakh crore in October 2026, SIP has witnessed substantial 8.8% growth compared to the same period last year, highlighting the sustained popularity of SIPs among investors.

Nearly 10 crore SIP accounts contributed in October, compared with about 9.45 crore a year earlier. SIP assets of Rs 17.68 lakh crore accounted for 21.2% of industry AUM.

Mutual fund folios are at 28,78,11,511 crore as of October 2026 with 15.80 lakh net folios being added during the month, up 0.55% from 28.62 crore in September.

Nirav Karkera, Head of Research & Fund Manager, W by Groww said that SIPs are contributing a meaningful share, while lumpsum investments are not quite rushing in right now. This implies that domestic money is cushioning the declines but may not be able to take markets meaningfully higher, at least not on its own.

He further said that any slippage in SIP numbers going forward could be a valid cause for concern, though the probability seems low at the moment.

The retail MF AUM (Equity + Hybrid + Solution Oriented Schemes) stood at Rs 49,21,426 crore for the month of October 2026 as against Rs 49,69,568 crore in September 2026. The retail Folios (Equity + Hybrid + Solution Oriented Schemes) are at 21,93,31,751 for October 2026 and 21,82,32,857 for September 2026.

Also Read | Smallcap mutual fund inflows drop 29% MoM to Rs 6,407 crore in October. Should investors be cautious or continue investing?

SIP contributions remaining above Rs 32,000 crore further reinforce the importance of systematic investing in building long-term wealth, said Vandana Trivedi, Chief Business Officer, Axis Mutual Fund.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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