Mutual funds add Rs 1.24 lakh crore to asset base in 2018
Mutual funds have added Rs 1.24 lakh crore to their asset base in 2018 aided by increase in SIP flows and a robust participation of retail investors despite volatile markets. The asset under management (AUM) of the industry grew by 5.54 per cent or Rs 1.24 lakh crore to Rs 23.61 lakh crore at the end of December 2018, up from Rs 22.37 lakh crore at the end of December 2017, latest data available with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.
The year 2018 also marked the sixth consecutive yearly rise in the industry’s AUM after a drop in the two preceding years. The pace of growth, however, declined for the asset size in 2018 as compared to the previous year. The industry saw a surge of 32 per cent in the AUM or an addition of over Rs 5.4 lakh crore in 2017. The IL&FS default and the consequent blow to the NBFC sector because of the credit crunch, exposed mutual funds to ill-liquid debt funds worth lakhs of crores.
of the reasons for a slower growth in assets base last year. Quantum Mutual Fund MD and CEO Jimmy Patel attributed the rise in mutual funds’ asset base in 2018 to strong participation of retail investors that continued to remain buoyant with their SIP investments despite rising crude oil prices, rupee depreciation and stock market volatility. In addition, markets regulator Sebi’s efforts on investor educaThis coupled with volatile markets could be some tion as well as Amfi’s ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign also helped the industry, he added.
