Gold ETF inflows jump 71.4 pc in September despite mutual fund outflows

Gold ETF inflows rose 71.4 per cent month-on-month to Rs 4,451 crore in September, even as mutual funds recorded overall net outflows of Rs 1.33 lakh crore. Equity schemes and SIPs continued attracting investments, while debt funds saw heavy withdrawals.

New Delhi: Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a sharp rise in investor interest in September, with net inflows surging 71.4 per cent month-on-month to Rs 4,451 crore from Rs 2,597 crore in August, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Monday.

The strong inflows into gold ETFs came despite the broader mutual fund industry witnessing net outflows of Rs 1.33 lakh crore during the month, reversing net inflows of Rs 41,353 crore recorded in August. The decline was largely driven by significant withdrawals from fixed-income mutual fund schemes.

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Debt-oriented mutual funds emerged as the biggest source of outflows, with net withdrawals rising sharply to Rs 1.83 lakh crore in September compared to Rs 8,127 crore in the preceding month.

The heavy redemptions weighed on the industry’s overall assets under management (AUM), which fell to Rs 82.64 lakh crore from Rs 87.08 lakh crore in August.

In contrast, equity mutual funds maintained their growth momentum and continued to attract investor money. Net inflows into equity schemes increased 30.6 per cent to Rs 38,307 crore in September, up from Rs 29,328 crore in August.

Among equity categories, small-cap funds remained the most preferred segment, garnering inflows of Rs 9,039 crore against Rs 7,973 crore in the previous month. Mid-cap funds also saw healthy investor participation, attracting Rs 7,835 crore compared with Rs 6,989 crore in August.

Flexi-cap funds recorded net inflows of Rs 6,702 crore, rising from Rs 5,059 crore a month earlier, while sectoral and thematic funds witnessed inflows increase to Rs 3,640 crore from Rs 1,713 crore.

Large-cap funds returned to positive territory after a month of outflows, receiving net investments of Rs 859 crore in September, compared with net outflows of Rs 1,147 crore in August.

Meanwhile, multi-asset allocation funds attracted Rs 3,667 crore, largely unchanged from Rs 3,671 crore in the previous month.

Investor participation through systematic investment plans (SIPs) remained robust, with monthly SIP contributions touching a record high of Rs 32,490 crore in September, marginally higher than Rs 32,297 crore recorded in August.