How do India's small investors feel about its stock markets? Look at its SIPs

Mutual funds were a retail investor’s favourite path of investment in the month of October, as SIP inflows in that month were Rs 29,529 crore, scaling a new peak this year. Sensex and Nifty, too, gained about 5 per cent last month.

At the end of October, the mutual fund industry’s total assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 79.9 lakh crore, marking a new all-time high.

This growth was driven by net inflows of Rs 4.3 lakh crore across various schemes, bringing the Indian MF industry closer to the $1 trillion benchmark, Naval Kagalwala, COO and Head of Products at Shriram Wealth, told the Times of India. Based on the current rupee–dollar exchange rate, the industry would need to add approximately ₹8.4 lakh crore more to reach the $1 trillion milestone.

Venkat N Chalasani, Chief Executive, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), also told TOI, “Investors are increasingly embracing disciplined, long-term investing through SIPs, reflecting growing financial maturity and trust in the mutual fund ecosystem.”

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Data from AMFI showed last month that inflows into India’s equity mutual funds eased 9% month-on-month to Rs 30,422 crore ($3.44 billion) in September as a sharp slowdown in sectoral and thematic funds weighed on overall flows.

Despite the moderation, investors continued to pour money into equities through monthly investment plans, with contributions through systematic investment plans (SIP) rising to a record high.

SIP contributions rose 4.2 per cent to an all-time high of 294.61 billion rupees in September, helping cushion the impact of a $2.7 billion sell-off by foreign investors amid global trade concerns. The steady domestic flows helped lift the benchmark Nifty 50.

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Among other equity categories, multi-cap funds saw inflows climb 11.5 per cent to 35.6 billion rupees, while small-cap and mid-cap funds dipped 12.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively. Large-cap inflows fell 18.2 per cent to 23.19 billion rupees.

With inputs from agencies