SIP account tally soars past eight crore mark for first time: Amfi data

Retail investors opened close to 50 lakh SIP mutual fund accounts in the month of February 2024. This is the highest number of SIP accounts that has been opened by retail investors in any single month in India’s history. The aggregate tally of SIP accounts has soared past 8-crore mark for the first time in the country. Out of this, close to 50 per cent of folios were opened  in the current financial year 2023-24 (FY24), itself i.e. from April 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. Small investors have opened 3.84 crore SIP accounts, hitherto, in the ongoing fiscal. On an average, small investors opened 32 lakh SIP accounts every month in the current fiscal.

So which are the favourite mutual funds of retail investors?

Small investors are investing heavily in equity funds.  The AUM of equity funds have reached Rs 23.12 lakh crore as of February 29, 2024. While, the total AUM of India’s mutual fund industry has reached Rs 54.54 lakh crore at February-end.

Amongst equity fund categories, inflows have been heavy especially in thematic and small-cap funds. These two mutual fund categories also attracted highest SIP inflows hitherto in FY24.

According to latest data as released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) for February 2024, the AUM of thematic funds has jumped 70 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.87 lakh crore in the said month from Rs 1.68 lakh crore in February 2023.

While, that of small-cap funds have almost doubled to Rs 2.49 lakh crore in February 2024 from Rs 1.31 lakh crore in year-ago month.

After Covid-19 pandemic saga, new retail investors which came into the market,  have been so bullish on equities that, investment in equity mutual funds has been positive continuously since March 2021. Since then, not a single month has gone by where net-outflow of funds from equity mutual funds was witnessed.