After a stellar 2023, the mutual fund industry sustained its growth momentum in 2024 with an impressive Rs 17 lakh crore surge in assets, driven by buoyant equity markets, robust economic growth, and increasing investor participation. Experts are predicting the positive trend will extend into 2025.
Flexicap fund performance depends heavily on the fund manager's decisions.
The improvement in the performance of actively managed mutual fund (MF) schemes is acting as a key tailwind for the nearly Rs 50 trillion industry, Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) said in a report. The report adds that the two largest listed asset management companies (AMCs) - HDFC and Nippon India - are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries. "The industry has a solid track record of delivering alpha on 10-year returns (70-80 per cent of assets under management (AUM) beat the benchmark), with shorter duration performance also on an upswing.
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Passive funds appeal to investors seeking to avoid the risk of underperformance by the fund manager and minimise the need for frequent chopping and changing of funds.
The highlight in January, with no surprise, has been flows into gold and silver ETFs.
Mutual funds are looking to tap into the special opportunities theme ahead of the results of the general election results and the continued uncertainty on the geo-political and interest rate fronts. Two fund houses - WhiteOak Capital and Samco - are set to launch special opportunities funds next week. Kotak MF has also filed papers with the regulator to launch a scheme in the same category.
The number of companies had touched a low of 792 in July 2020 amid heightened uncertainty because of COVID-19.
Largecap equity funds remain suitable for conservative and moderate risk-taking investors seeking relatively stable returns.
Fund managers advise conservative investors to cap midcap exposure at 10 to 15 per cent of their equity portfolio.
2025 marked a shift in investor preference when it comes to MF schemes.
Asset management companies launched 239 new fund offerings (NFOs) mobilising Rs 1.18 lakh crore in 2024, with sectoral or thematic equity funds emerging as the top choice of investors, according to a report by Germinate Investor Services Research. This was higher than 212 NFOs collecting Rs 63,854 crore in 2023 and 228 NFOs garnering Rs 62,187 crore in 2022.
Retail investors' equity portfolios have significantly underperformed benchmark indices over the past 16 to 18 months.
Passive funds have resumed gaining ground in the mutual fund (MF) industry after a slowdown in 2024, with their share of assets under management (AUM) reaching an all-time high in 2025. The surge has been driven largely by robust inflows into gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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'People become guided by emotions, fear of missing out, and greed. They tend to invest in booming sectors that may prove exceptionally expensive.' 'Typically, that represents the peak, and subsequently, they lose substantially.'
'New investors should enter gradually and stay cautious.' 'Silver is a structural multi-year story, but timing matters in a high-volatility metal.'
'First-time or conservative investors should avoid narrow sectoral funds.'
Investors are moving away from the commercial paper (CP) market towards certificates of deposit (CDs), as primary CD issuances and rates on these short-term instruments rise.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is considering a proposal to allow mutual funds (MFs) to charge a fee based on their performance, said Ananta Barua, whole-time member of the markets regulator. He said the proposal is being reviewed by a working group formed to look into cost structures. "One working group has been set up which is going to review... One of the suggestions is that if any scheme or fund is performing well above the benchmark, it (fee) can be linked to its performance.
Gold ETFs attracted around Rs 11,700 crore, the highest in a calendar month.
The Indian government informed Parliament that India and the US are engaged in negotiations for a mutually beneficial multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement. The two countries also cooperate on strategic, economic, and defense matters, managing divergences through high-level dialogues.
'The day that the market realises that they've overspent (on AI) and there's a sudden collapse in the capex, then India can start outperforming again.'
'Investing in these funds makes sense if their net yield over better-quality funds -- corporate bond funds or banking and PSU funds -- is meaningful.'
The mutual fund industry took a hit of more than Rs 16,000 crore on its asset size during 2011, even as the newly-crowned market leader HDFC MF grew in size and consolidated its top position.
Mutual funds (MFs) are lining up distinguished new fund offerings (NFOs) for the next financial year to win over investors after a lukewarm response to product launches in the 2022-23 financial year (FY23). NFOs drew a lukewarm response in FY23 as launches were mostly in the passive debt space, which has a comparatively lower popularity among retail investors. The limited launches in equity space also failed to rake in huge sums due to subdued investor sentiments in a volatile market.
Largecap equities are less volatile than mid- and smallcap stocks, making them suitable for risk-averse investors.
K Ramalingam explains the three most powerful signals that indicate your mutual fund's performance
The share of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas investors in Indian mutual funds has been declining over time, despite adding half-a-trillion rupees to holdings over the last five years. Mutual fund holdings for the segment went up from Rs 0.95 trillion as of December 2018 to Rs 1.54 trillion as of December 2022, shows Business Standard analysis of data from the industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Their share in overall mutual fund assets has fallen from 4.2 per cent to 3.9 per cent during the same period.
Despite strong AUM growth, MFs lag behind other popular investment avenues. MFs received only 6 per cent of total household savings in 2021-2022.
'The first time India has seen two consecutive blockbuster IPO years.'
The country's primary capital markets delivered a robust performance in FY26, emerging as a global leader in initial public offerings (IPOs) despite an uncertain environment, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.
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.
Knowing these will save you from taking undue risks, losses and also create wealth in the long run, says Dwaipayan Bose.
Existing mutual fund investors have time till March 31 to nominate a beneficiary or opt out of it by submitting a declaration form, failing which their folios will be frozen, and they will not be able to redeem investment. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its circular on June 15, 2022, made it mandatory for mutual fund subscribers to submit the nomination details or declaration to opt out of the nomination on or after August 1, 2022. Later, the deadline was extended to October 1, 2022.
Even as net flows into smallcap funds in March turned negative, for the first time in 30 months, they remained a big draw for new investors. The smallcap fund category saw a net of 360,000 investment accounts, or folios, getting added last month, the second-most among all active equity categories. Smallcap funds' continued traction could be driven by their strong performance across timeframes, say experts.
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