International mutual fund schemes have seen a significant resurgence in investor interest, attracting approximately Rs 7,600 crore in net inflows over the past year, a stark reversal from previous outflows, driven by their strong outperformance against domestic markets and limited AI-linked investment opportunities in India.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), driven by the popularity of mutual funds, have emerged as significant stabilising forces for Indian capital markets amidst global volatility and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) outflows, according to Sebi whole-time member Amarjeet Singh.
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rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
Foreign investors have largely been exiting one part of the market while domestic investors have been enthusiastically accumulating another, points out Debashis Basu.
'The Rs 30,954 crore inflows recorded in May 2026 reflects around 16 per cent year-on-year rise.'
Net mutual fund inflows into active equity schemes in India plummeted by 40 per cent month-on-month in May, reaching a one-year low of 22,908 crore, primarily due to weaker lump-sum investments and increased redemptions amidst significant market volatility and global uncertainties.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
The SIF vertical, which allows MFs to offer complex products to relatively sophisticated investors, has managed to garner scale in just seven months of the launch of the first products.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Indian mutual funds have significantly reduced their exposure to the information technology (IT) sector, with holdings now at an eight-year low of 6.7% in April 2026, driven by weak earnings growth, global demand slowdown, and concerns over AI-led disruption.
Net investments into equity mutual fund schemes in India remained elevated at approximately 38,440 crore in April, despite a slight dip from March's high and a 3% month-on-month decline in Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows.
The ratio of MF assets under management to total bank deposits has more than doubled in 10 years.
SIP inflows into active equity schemes from areas beyond the top 30 cities (B30), which first crossed this milestone in September 2025, stood at Rs 10,080 crore in October, industry data shows.
MFs offer scale, simplicity, liquidity, and tax efficiency, and are an excellent vehicle for disciplined SIP investing. PMS is better suited for larger portfolios with equity allocation of Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore.
Fund managers are divided on the prospects for beaten-down information technology (IT) stocks, reflected in the wide variance in equity mutual funds' (MFs) sector exposure. An analysis by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows that while six large fund houses were overweight the sector relative to its weight in the Nifty 200 index, five were underweight as of October 2025. UTI MF had the highest exposure at 17.8 per cent, while SBI MF sat at the bottom with 5 per cent.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
'Every year we import approximately $70 billion worth of gold -- closer to $72 billion in 2025-2026, an all-time record.' 'There is no parallel for this anywhere in the world. And this love for gold will not disappear overnight.'
From the financial year 2025-2026, the government has introduced a new column in the tax return form for presumptive taxpayers, requiring them to disclose their year-end investments. This requirement was not present last year.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Despite similar tax treatment, debt MFs enjoy certain advantages over FDs.
Investors who constantly hop between 'top-performing' funds often end up earning far lower returns than the very funds they invest in -- simply because they enter late and exit early. Best investors don't chase returns, they chase discipline, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Uncertainty stemming from the US-Iran conflict has significantly impacted India's mutual fund industry, leading to a sharp decline in new fund offers (NFOs) in March, despite numerous regulatory approvals. This geopolitical tension, coupled with existing market strain and distributor hesitation, has dampened investor sentiment and affected overall inflows.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The competitive intensity in the mutual fund (MF) industry is moving beyond scheme performance, cost structures, and distribution. In recent months, several fund houses have rationalised exit loads applicable on redemptions.
With domestic markets turning choppy, investors are increasingly scouting for opportunities overseas to diversify portfolios and hedge against a weakening rupee.
In November, six primary market issuances accounted for more than 13,000 crore of net equity investments by MFs.
The continued MF buying has pushed the equity holding of MFs to over Rs 50 trillion for the first time.
For every 100 rupees, households invested Rs 45.2 in mutual funds and equities in 2024-2025.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'AUM reached an all-time high of Rs 79.9 trillion in October 2025, driven by strong retail participation and record SIP inflows of Rs 29,529 crore from over 94.5 million contributing accounts.'
Households should moderate large discretionary expenses for the time being.
'They should prioritise essential spending. They should maintain an emergency fund covering 6 to 12 months of expenses.'
'The volatility in the stock markets since September 2024 has hurt the pace of accretion of new investors.'
Retail investors' equity portfolios have significantly underperformed benchmark indices over the past 16 to 18 months.
'The day is not too far when the share of MFs alone will be greater than that of foreign institutional investors.'
Among its 27 recommendations for the Union Budget is this: It has suggested that equity investments held for more than one year and up to three years should be taxed at 12.5 per cent on gains exceeding 2 lakh in a financial year.
The highlight in January, with no surprise, has been flows into gold and silver ETFs.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Companies in the lower mcap deciles have recorded the fastest growth in median mcap.
Issuers have allotted nearly four times as much to mutual funds (MFs) as they have to insurance companies in recent quarters. MFs invested Rs 21,976 crore as anchor investors in initial public offerings (IPOs) on a trailing four-quarter basis, according to data from Prime Database.
