The Rs 38-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry is going through a new fund offer (NFO) rush. Since July 1, the industry has launched close to 70 NFOs. This follows the completion of a near three-month embargo period when the industry had vowed to not launch any new offerings till the time it implemented norms around pooling of investor accounts. As a result, between April and June 2022, the industry was able to launch just three NFOs.
These funds have scored the best on the Morningstar Risk and Return rating grades.
Mutual funds focused on investing in fixed-income securities witnessed a heavy outflow of Rs 92,248 crore in June on uncertain macro environment, driven by expectations around an increasing rate cycle, higher commodity prices and slowdown in growth. This comes following a net outflow of Rs 32,722 crore in May and an inflow of Rs 54,756 crore in April, data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. Out of the 16 fixed-income or debt fund categories, 14 witnessed net outflows during the month under review.
Continuing its heavy selling spree for the eighth consecutive month, foreign investors pulled out nearly Rs 40,000 crore from the Indian equity market in May on fears of an aggressive rate hike by US Federal Reserve that dented investor sentiments. With this, net outflow by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from equities reached at Rs 1.69 lakh crore so far in 2022, data with depositories showed. Going ahead, FPI flows will remain volatile in the emerging markets on account of rising geo-political risk, rising inflation, tightening of monetary policy by central banks, among others, Shrikant Chouhan, Head - Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities said.
Equity mutual funds attracted Rs 8,898 crore in July, a 43 per cent decline compared to the preceding month as markets continued to remain volatile amid concerns over inflation and rate hike expectations. For the 17th straight month, equity mutual funds witnessed inflows in July. The net inflows in July were lower compared to Rs 15,495 crore seen in June, Rs 18,529 crore in May and Rs 15,890 crore in April, according to data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Monday.
The value of foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) holdings in domestic equities reached $654 billion in three months ended December 2021, a drop of nearly 2 per cent from the preceding quarter, according to a Morningstar report. This was largely on the back of a massive sell-off by foreign investors and a correction in the Indian equity markets, especially in the large and mid-cap sectors. "At the end of the quarter ended December 2021, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities fell to $654 billion, which was lower than $667 billion recorded in the previous quarter, a fall of around 2 per cent," the report noted.
This could be attributed to the attractive valuation of the Indian equities after the sharp correction during the first quarter of calendar year 2020 and significant depreciation of the Indian rupee against USD, which provided them a rather good entry point.
Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 248 crore in February, making it the second consecutive month of withdrawals as investors preferred equities over other segments on record SIP flows. Net outflows from the gold ETFs were at Rs 452 crore in the month of January. Prior to that, the asset class had seen a net investment of Rs 313 crore, according to the data of Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Despite the outflows, the category witnessed an increase in net assets under management (AUM) of gold ETFs to Rs 18,727 crore at the end of February from Rs 17,839 crore in January-end.
Sustaining positive momentum for the 14th straight month, equity mutual funds attracted a net sum of Rs 15,890 crore in April amid heightened volatility in stock market and consistent selling by foreign portfolio investors. This was much lower compared to a record net inflow of Rs 28,463 crore seen in the preceding month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Tuesday. The lower quantum of net inflow from the previous month could be attributed to investors going slightly cautious given the ongoing challenges to the investment environment, Himanshu Srivastava, associate director - manager research, Morningstar India, said.
Undeterred by the stock market volatility, uncertainty due to the Ukraine-Russia war and high inflation, equity mutual funds continue to remain attractive choice for investors for the 15th straight month, registering a net inflow of Rs 18,529 crore in May on robust SIP numbers. This was higher than Rs 15,890 crore net inflow in April, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Thursday. Equity schemes have been witnessing net inflow since March 2021, highlighting the positive sentiment among investors.
Overseas investors have pumped in $6.3 billion in Indian equity markets in three months ended September on attractive valuations, opening-up of the economy and resumption in business activities, says a Morningstar report. This comes following a net inflow of $3.9 billion in June quarter and a net withdrawal of $6.38 billion in March quarter. Apart from inflow, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities swelled further during the quarter under review largely on the back of robust net inflows, coupled with a strong performance of the Indian equity markets.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 4,515 crore from the equities segment in the first half of July as they turn cautious towards the Indian market. "With markets trading near all-time high, FPIs would have chosen to book profits. "They have also been staying on the sidelines given high valuations and most likely on the back of the risk of a potential third wave of the coronavirus pandemic," said Morningstar India associate director (manager research) Himanshu Srivastava. Though the continuing firmness in the dollar and the possibility of rising bond yields in the US do not augur well for capital flows into emerging markets like India, there is no immediate worry at the moment, he said.
New fund offers collection in the current calendar year was the highest in a decade, with 13 of the 70 equity schemes cornering 75 per cent of the amount raised.
The value of the foreign portfolio investors (FPI) holdings in the domestic equities reached $592 billion in three months ended June 2021, a surge of 7 per cent from the preceding quarter, according to a Morningstar report. This was largely on the back of robust net inflows from FPIs, coupled with the strong performance of the Indian equity markets. "As of the quarter ended June 2021, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities stood at $592 billion, which was considerably higher than the $552 billion recorded in the previous quarter, a spike of around 7 per cent," the report noted. As of June 2020, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities had been $344 billion.
Morningstar India's investment conference from November 1-2, 2012 in Mumbai for retail investors, brokers, financial advisors.
The value of the foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) holdings in the domestic equities reached $667 billion in three months ended September 2021, a surge of 13 per cent from the preceding quarter, according to a Morningstar report. This was largely on the back of strong performance by the Indian equity markets along with net inflows from FPIs at the later part of the quarter. "At the end of the quarter ended September 2021, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities shot up sharply to $667 billion, which was considerably higher than the $592 billion recorded in the previous quarter, a spike of around 13 per cent," the report noted.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 12,266 crore in the Indian market in the first five trading sessions of February, as positive sentiment post-Union Budget 2021 sparked a rally in investment.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) remained net buyers in Indian markets in October so far, pumping in a net Rs 17,749 crore in the month as better than expected quarterly results, the opening of the economy, and resumption of business activities kept investors' interest intact. In equities, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs 15,642 crore and the debt segment saw an inflow of Rs 2,107 crore during October 1-23, the depositories data showed. The total net investment during the period under review stood at Rs 17,749 crore.
Investors pumped Rs 491 crore in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) in February as they seem be taking advantage of the lower domestic prices caused due to declining international rates, appreciating rupee and reduction in custom duty. This came following a net investment of Rs 625 crore in January and Rs 431 crore in December. Prior to this, gold ETFs had seen an outflow of Rs 141 crore in November, data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India showed.
The one-year returns for equity-oriented mutual fund (MFs) schemes have largely mirrored the gains made in the secondary market. However, schemes that invest in infrastructure (infra), small-cap, and public sector undertaking (PSU) banks have emerged standout performers, with gains in excess of 100 per cent in some cases. Of the total 484 equity schemes, 353 have managed to beat the Sensex, reveals the data provided by Value Research. Around 20 have delivered returns in excess of 90 per cent and six schemes have given returns of over 100 per cent in the past one year. The S&P BSE Sensex Total Return Index (TRI) has given returns of 51 per cent in the last one year, ended October 29.
Increasing awareness about mutual funds, ease of transactions through digitisation and sharp surge in equity markets have aided asset management companies to add a staggering 3.17 crore investor accounts in 2021-22, with experts saying the trend is likely to continue this fiscal as well. This was a significant rise from 2020-21 when 81 lakh accounts (or folios in mutual fund parlance) were opened, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. The ongoing financial year too appears to be promising in terms of folios as increase in investor accounts will enable people to move beyond fixed deposits and savings accounts, said Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of LXME, a financial platform for women.
India-focused offshore funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of $376 million in three months ended March 2021, making it the twelfth consecutive quarter of withdrawal, according to a Morningstar report released on Wednesday. This was markedly lower than the net outflows of $986 million registered during the quarter ended December 2020. India-focused offshore funds and ETFs are some of the prominent investment vehicles through which foreign investors invest in Indian equity markets.
Waves of foreign portfolio investments worth over Rs 51,000 crore splashed into the Indian market in 2021 as overseas investors turned net buyers of domestic securities for the third straight year while excess global liquidity and other factors steered the ebb and flow of their investing ways. With the global financial system still flush with liquidity, emerging market assets, especially equities, might well remain the preferred investment avenue for many more months to come, experts opined. As the equities sizzled during most of 2021, that also saw economy slowly coming back into the recovery path, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) turned net buyers but their investment is much less compared to net inflows of Rs 1.03 lakh crore in 2020.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pumped in a net sum of Rs 49,553 crore in Indian markets this month so far on back of high liquidity coupled with improving global indicators and clarity after the US presidential elections. FPIs invested Rs 44,378 crore in equities and Rs 5,175 crore in the debt segment, taking the total net investment to Rs 49,553 crore between November 3-20. In October, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs 22,033 crore.
Infosys was the worst performer among the bluechips on both the key indices.
After eight months of consecutive outflows, equity mutual funds witnessed a net inflow of Rs 9,115 crore in March amid correction in the stock market. Barring multi-cap and value fund categories, all the equity schemes saw inflow last month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Thursday. However, investors pulled out Rs 52,528 crore from debt mutual funds last month, after investing Rs 1,735 crore in February, owing to advance tax payments and other year ending commitments. Overall, the mutual fund industry witnessed a net outflow of Rs 29,745 crore across all segments during the period under review, compared with a net inflow of Rs 4,090 crore in February.
The inflows meant assets under management of gold ETFs climbed by over 4 per cent to Rs 13,503 crore at the end of August from Rs 12,941 crore at July-end.
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If a retail investor wants exposure to a healthcare ETF, it should be a part of his satellite portfolio, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Except for September quarter, which had net inflows of $196 million, all other quarters had outflows.
'The good news is that money continues to flow into India-focussed offshore funds.'
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However, it is noteworthy that foreign investors pumped in money on the day of election results as the mandate became clear
As the coronavirus pandemic is triggering fears of a global recession, foreign investors have started rowing back from the Indian capital markets by withdrawing a massive over Rs 1 lakh crore in March after remaining net buyers for six consecutive months. In order to contain the spread of coronavirus, lockdowns have become a norm the world over and have led the FPIs to adopt a cautious stance, market experts said.
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