New Delhi: Inflow in equity mutual funds (MFs) declined to an 11-month low at Rs 25,082 crore in March primarily due to sharp redemption in sectoral and thematic funds amid continued market volatility spurred by tariff concerns.
This was the third consecutive month of a decline in inflow in equity funds and also marks 14 per cent drop in inflow from February. The latest fund infusion by investors was the 49th consecutive month of net inflows into the segment.
Moreover, inflows into systematic investment plans (SIP) came at Rs 25,925 crore in March — a four-month low. Before this, SIP inflow was Rs 25,999 crore in February, Rs 26,400 crore in January and Rs 26,459 crore in December.
In the fiscal year 2024-25, the average monthly SIP contribution reached Rs 24,113 crore, marking a significant increase from the Rs 16,602 crore observed in the preceding fiscal. According to data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Friday, equity-oriented MFs saw an inflow of Rs 25,082 crore in March, way lower than Rs 29,303 crore in February.
The flow in March was at the lowest level since April 2025, when equity mutual funds attracted Rs 18,917 crore.
Within the equity fund categories, flexi cap funds recorded the highest inflows in March, attracting Rs 5,165 crore. However, sectoral/thematic funds, which saw a robust inflow of Rs 5,711 crore in February, experienced a sharp drop, drawing in just Rs 735 crore in March.
This significant decline indicates a shift in investor sentiment, with interest moving away from niche sectoral bets towards more diversified and flexible investment strategies.
In March, mid-cap and small-cap mutual funds continued to attract significant investor interest, with inflows of Rs 3,439 crore and Rs 4,092 crore, respectively. These figures marked a slight increase from February’s inflows of Rs 3,406 crore for mid-caps and Rs 3,722 crore for small-caps. In contrast, large-cap funds witnessed a decline in inflows, receiving Rs 2,479 crore in March compared to Rs 2,866 crore in February.
In FY25, equity-oriented funds witnessed cumulative inflows of Rs 4.17 lakh crore, significantly higher than the Rs 1.84 lakh crore recorded in FY24.
On the other hand, debt funds registered an outflow of Rs 2.02 lakh crore in March as compared to Rs 6,525 crore in February.
In March, all 16 debt fund categories recorded net outflows, highlighting broad-based redemption pressure across the segment. Liquid funds bore the brunt, witnessing the highest outflow at Rs 1.33 lakh crore -- accounting for 65.64 per cent of the total outflow for the month.
This was followed by overnight funds, which saw redemptions of Rs 30,015 crore, and money market funds, which experienced net outflows of Rs 21,301 crore. Moreover, outflows remained relatively muted in the duration-oriented categories, such as medium to long duration, and gilt funds.
Additionally, gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) saw an outflow of Rs 77 crore last month after witnessing a fund infusion of Rs 1,980 crore by investors in February. Overall, mutual funds experienced an outflow of Rs 1.64 lakh crore during the month under review as compared to an inflow of Rs 40,000 crore in February.
Despite the outflow, assets under management of the industry slightly increased to Rs 65.7 lakh crore in March-end from Rs 64.53 lakh crore in the preceding month.