Mutual funds add 7 lakh folios in April; Total tally surpasses 9-cr mark

The mutual fund industry has added nearly seven lakh investor accounts in April, taking the total folio tally to 9.04 crore, amid volatility in broader markets.

This is 71st consecutive month witnessing a rise in the numbers of folios, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts. An investor can have multiple folios.

According to data, the number of folios with 44 fund houses rose to 9,04,28,589 at the end of April, from 8,97,46,051 in the end of March, registering a gain of 6,82,538 folios.

This comes following the addition of over 9 lakh investor accounts in March.

In February, the industry added 3 lakh folios, 14 lakh folios in January and in December, the number was over 6 lakh.

The addition in folios comes at a time when broader market witnessed volatility amid concerns over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the midst of uncertainty over the possible impact of the lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the global as well as domestic economy, investors are looking at this scenario as an investment opportunity, industry experts said.

They, further, said the addition of folios suggests investors' understanding of the market risks associated with the mutual fund schemes.

Of the total 9.04 crore investors account, the number of folios under equity, hybrid and solution-oriented schemes, wherein the maximum investment is from the retail segment stood at about 8 crore.

The number of folios under the equity and equity-linked saving schemes rose by 6 lakh to 6.33 crore in April-end as compared to 6.27 crore at the end of the preceding month.

However, the number of folio count in debt-oriented schemes dropped by 4.37 lakh to 60.91 lakh at April-end from 61.35 lakh at March-end.

Within the debt category, liquid funds continued to top the chart in terms of number of folios at nearly 19.5 lakh, followed by low-duration fund at 93,53,79.

Overall, mutual fund schemes witnessed an inflow of Rs 46,000 crore last month across all segments. The inflow has pushed the asset base of the mutual fund sector to Rs 23.93 crore at the end of April from Rs 22.26 crore at the end of March.