MF assets touch record high

The domestic mutual fund industry touched a new high in February, with a 1.45 per cent rise in assets under management (AUMs), to a record of Rs 9.16 trillion on the back of inflows into income and equity-related funds, ratings agency Crisil said on Monday.

Interestingly, while liquid funds saw outflows during last month, equity funds registered inflows for fourth consecutive month.

“The spurt was primarily due to inflows into income and equity-oriented funds. On the other hand, liquid funds saw outflows, which eroded higher gains for the industry assets,” the rating agency said in a release.

Income funds witnessed inflows of Rs 12,900 crore, taking the assets under this category, to Rs 4.48 lakh crore.

“The inflows were primarily into fixed mature plans as investors continued to invest in the closed-end funds, lured by higher interest rates offered currently,” it said, adding that  equity funds saw inflows for fourth consecutive month with Rs 582 crore addition.
“Assets rose 3.3 per cent or by Rs 5,700 crore to Rs 1.81 trillion, helped by inflows and mark-to-market gains,” the rating agency said.

Global fund of funds saw inflows for the ninth straight month, posting growth in AUMs to Rs 3,194 crore.

“The category has caught investors’ attention as improving prospects of developed economies and a soft rupee has shored up returns,” Crisil said.

Investors continued to exit gold exchange traded funds amid weak sentiment for the underlying asset class, the rating agency said.

“The latest month saw outflows of Rs 178 crore compared with Rs 165 crore in the previous month,” it said.

Talking on the overall assets under management, the release said gains in total assets under management was capped by outflows from liquid funds, which saw outflows of Rs 9,629 crore in February.