Global risks include a potential delay in the US-India trade agreement, the possibility of a sharp correction in US equity markets, and renewed geopolitical tensions.
2025 marked a shift in investor preference when it comes to MF schemes.
Gold ETFs attracted around Rs 11,700 crore, the highest in a calendar month.
'The volatility in the stock markets since September 2024 has hurt the pace of accretion of new investors.'
The post-Covid euphoria surrounding direct equity investing has ebbed in 2025. Individual investors have turned net sellers in the domestic equity market, pulling out about 8,461 crore so far this year - a sharp reversal from the record purchases seen in 2024, according to a report by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).
Inflows into mutual fund (MF) schemes via systematic investment plans (SIPs) have topped Rs 3 trillion for the first time in a calendar year, as investors increasingly rely on the staggered investment route amid market volatility.
Passive funds have resumed gaining ground in the mutual fund (MF) industry after a slowdown in 2024, with their share of assets under management (AUM) reaching an all-time high in 2025. The surge has been driven largely by robust inflows into gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
'We operate in an economy that is structurally positioned for long-term growth. As market levels rise over time, our AUM grows in line.'
In November, six primary market issuances accounted for more than 13,000 crore of net equity investments by MFs.
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has set a price band of Rs 2,061- Rs 2,165 per share for its Rs 10,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) that will open on Friday. At the upper end of the band, the country's largest asset manager will command a valuation of Rs 1.07 trillion.
The continued MF buying has pushed the equity holding of MFs to over Rs 50 trillion for the first time.
SIP inflows into active equity schemes from areas beyond the top 30 cities (B30), which first crossed this milestone in September 2025, stood at Rs 10,080 crore in October, industry data shows.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
'The day is not too far when the share of MFs alone will be greater than that of foreign institutional investors.'
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
Fund managers are divided on the prospects for beaten-down information technology (IT) stocks, reflected in the wide variance in equity mutual funds' (MFs) sector exposure. An analysis by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows that while six large fund houses were overweight the sector relative to its weight in the Nifty 200 index, five were underweight as of October 2025. UTI MF had the highest exposure at 17.8 per cent, while SBI MF sat at the bottom with 5 per cent.
'AUM reached an all-time high of Rs 79.9 trillion in October 2025, driven by strong retail participation and record SIP inflows of Rs 29,529 crore from over 94.5 million contributing accounts.'
'The net inflows into MF schemes may also have been lower last month, with investors booking profit and taking a more measured approach amid elevated valuations.'
'Sebi's move to cap brokerage charges will help investors by lowering the overall cost of investments.'
Cash holdings of equity mutual fund (MF) schemes moderated in September amid a slowdown in fresh inflows. Equity MF schemes held cash worth Rs 1.76 trillion at the end of September 2025 - about Rs 400 crore lower than the previous month, according to a report by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances