Investments into non-physical assets got a boost in April when the asset base of India's 42 mutual funds (MFs) rose to a lifetime high, aided by a rally in stock markets. Assets under management (AUMs) of mutual funds stood at Rs 19.26 lakh crore, up 9.7 percent from Rs 17.55 lakh crore as of March 31, 2017.
The news comes on the back of stock market investments by MF managers hitting a five-month high of Rs 9,918 crore for April.
In an update released on Monday, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) said that investments into equity schemes more than doubled to Rs 8,842 crore last month from Rs 4,042 crore recorded in April last year.
The biggest change was in balanced funds, with net inflows spiking to Rs 7,136 crore from Rs 366 crore last April.
The overall inflows stood at Rs 1,50,703 crore in April this year, down from Rs 1,70,161 crore mainly because of investors pouring significantly low amount in liquid money market schemes. These schemes invest in treasury bills, certificates of deposit and commercial paper.
India's top three fund houses are ICICI MF, HDFC MF and Reliance MF.
India's benchmark index BSE Sensex gained just 1 percent in April compared to 2 percent for Hong Kong (Hang Seng) and 3 percent for South Korea (Kospi). For the three-month period ended April, Sensex gained 6 percent while the one-year appreciation is 17 percent, according to IDBI Capital Markets & Securities.
In April, select sectoral indices outperformed the BSE Sensex; Realty Index gained 20 percent and Capital Goods Index 8.6 percent.
The month was an exception for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who turned net sellers in Indian equities to the tune of about $200 million, though for the four-month period, their net equity investments in India were significant.
"The equity markets saw inflows of $6.4 billion (for January-April 2017), double the $3.2 billion in the corresponding period last year. The debt market has seen inflows of $7.6 billion in 2017 so far, againt of $7.6 billion in 2016," Teresa John, analyst at brokerage Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities, had told International Business Times, India edition a few days ago.
On Monday (May 8), the BSE Sensex closed 67 points higher at 29,926 while the NSE Nifty ended at 9,314, up 29 points. Top index gainers were Lupin, Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints.
