Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) The domestic mutual fund industry closed FY26 with assets under management (AUM) rising 12.2 per cent to Rs 73.73 lakh crore, adding Rs 8 lakh crore to its asset base over the year as sustained equity market volatility weighed on overall growth, according to latest data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

In addition to the full-year AUM growth, March data pointed to a sharp rebound in equity fund appetite even after geopolitical tensions. Inflows into actively managed equity mutual funds rose to Rs 40,450.26 crore in the month, which is the highest since July 2025, up from Rs 25,977.81 crore in February.

Meanwhile, SIP contributions hit a record high of Rs 32,087 crore in March, compared to Rs 29,845 crore the previous month, underscoring sustained retail investor participation even amid market turbulence.

Analysts attributed the surge in equity inflows to year-end portfolio allocations, opportunistic deployment of capital during recent corrections and the perception of improved valuations following the West Asia-linked selloff.

However, the overall mutual fund industry reported net outflows of Rs 2.39 lakh crore in March, against net inflows of Rs 94,530 crore in February. Debt mutual funds witnessed outflows of Rs 2.94 lakh crore in March.

Additionally, Gold ETF inflows nearly halved to Rs 2,266 crore in March, against Rs 5,254.95 crore in February.

Among equity categories, flexi-cap funds led inflows at Rs 10,054.12 crore, up from Rs 6,924.65 crore in February. Small-cap and mid-cap funds attracted Rs 6,263.56 crore and Rs 6,063.53 crore, respectively, compared to Rs 3,881.06 crore and Rs 4,002.99 crore in the previous month. While large-cap funds drew Rs 2,997.84 crore.

Moreover, the AUM accretion was sharply lower compared to the nearly 23 per cent growth recorded in FY25 and the 36 per cent surge in FY24.

During the year, market fluctuations occurred due to elevated valuations, subdued corporate earnings, geopolitical tensions, including trade-related concerns, continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and the absence of AI-linked investment flows.

However, selling pressure intensified more recently following the US-Iran-Israel conflict, which pushed crude oil prices higher and raised concerns over India’s fiscal outlook.

–IANS

ag/na