India’s mutual fund industry grows! Assets under management hit new record of Rs 85.76 lakh crore
India’s mutual fund industry continued to grow in July 2026, with total assets under management (AUM) reaching a record high of Rs 85.76 lakh crore. This was up from Rs 75.36 lakh crore a year earlier, according to data from Franklin Templeton’s Mutual Fund industry dashboard.Equity funds remained the biggest part of the industry. Equity AUM rose to around Rs 52.3 lakh crore in July from Rs 45.1 lakh crore a year earlier. Its share of total mutual fund assets also increased to 61% from 59.9%.SIP investments continued to grow in July. Monthly SIP flows rose 12% year-on-year to Rs 31,961 crore, compared with Rs 28,464 crore in July 2025.The number of SIP accounts also increased 12.5% to 10.63 crore. However, the average monthly SIP amount fell slightly to Rs 3,007 from Rs 3,012 a year earlier.New SIP registrations stood at 61.44 lakh in July. The dashboard said the rise in SIP closures was partly due to the reconciliation of inactive accounts between RTAs and exchanges.
Passive funds gain popularity
Passive funds also saw strong growth. Their AUM rose to Rs 15.15 lakh crore in July 2026 from Rs 12.18 lakh crore a year earlier, marking a 24% increase.Passive funds now account for 18% of total mutual fund AUM, up from 15% in July 2022.The number of passive mutual fund schemes also increased. They made up 37% of all mutual fund schemes in July, compared with 34% a year earlier.Domestic equity passive funds made up 68.4% of passive fund AUM in July. Commodity passive funds accounted for 16.5%, debt passive funds 12.4% and international passive funds 2.5%.
Small-cap and mid-cap funds see strong inflows
Several equity fund categories saw fresh investments in July. Small-cap funds received Rs 7,768 crore, while mid-cap funds received Rs 6,192 crore.Flexi-cap funds saw inflows of Rs 4,709 crore, followed by large and mid-cap funds at Rs 3,425 crore and multi-cap funds at Rs 3,227 crore. Overall, equity funds recorded net inflows of Rs 24,697 crore during the month.
Money-market funds lead debt flows
Among debt funds, liquid funds saw the highest inflows at Rs 11,907 crore in July. Money-market funds received Rs 2,118 crore, while ultra-short-duration funds saw Rs 804 crore in inflows.
Individual investors drive equity investments
Individual investors continue to have a strong presence in equity mutual funds. Around 87% of individual investors’ mutual fund assets are in equity-oriented schemes.In comparison, institutions have a much larger share of their money in liquid, money-market and debt funds.Individual investors’ mutual fund AUM has also grown faster than the overall industry. Their AUM grew at an annual rate of 23% over the last five years, compared with 19% for the industry as a whole.
Mutual fund spreads beyond major cities
The growth of mutual funds is also spreading beyond India’s biggest cities. AUM from B30 cities, cities outside the top 30, rose from 16% of total AUM in December 2020 to 19% in July 2026. B30 AUM has grown at a 23% annual rate, compared with 19% for T30 cities.At the state level, New Delhi recorded the highest AUM growth among the top 10 states at 39.95% over the year, followed by Telangana at 18.99%. Uttar Pradesh’s AUM rose 1.4% to Rs 3.56 lakh crore.Overall, the July data shows that India’s mutual fund market is being supported by rising SIP investments, strong demand for equity funds, growing interest in passive products and increasing participation from investors outside the country’s biggest financial centres.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com