Allocations are being tilted towards Multi Asset Allocation, Large and Flexi categories. Investors are being cautious in allocations and may postpone or stagger in near future
Karthick jonagadla, smallcase manager and Founder & CEO of Quantace Research
Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Director, CareEdge Ratings
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, March 13, 2025: Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has released February 2025. Let’s know the perspectives of different industry voices on the AMFI numbers.
Juzer Gabajiwala, Director and Company Secretary, Ventura:
“Gross collections across major categories have seen a dip in collection. In fact debt oriented funds there is a net outflow in Feb 25. Huge drop can be seen in the short term instruments and this looks more towards corporate redemption.
On equity oriented funds too there has been a significant drop in the Gross collections with major dip being in thematic and mid & small cap segment. A silver lining is that the redemptions have been muted and the net collections are still positive. Concerns will start if we see net collection to be negative. Hybrid funds too have seen a drop but mainly in Arbitrage funds. Redemption has significantly been lower.”
Pankaj Shrestha, Head of Investment Services, PL capital:
"In February 2025, equity net inflows declined by 26% to Rs 29,303 crore, marking a 10-month low. Despite this dip, the market has sustained positive inflows for 48 consecutive months, reflecting continued investor confidence. Notably, large-cap funds saw a slight decline but held up relatively better than other categories, indicating investors' preference for stability amid market volatility."
Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Director, CareEdge Ratings:
‘‘The mutual fund industry’s assets under management reduced by 4% m-o-m to Rs.64.53 lakh crore primarily due to MTM losses in the equity space. This asset price reduction comes on the backdrop of global uncertainties and macroeconomic factors which has caused the benchmark indices nifty 50 and BSE Sensex to decline by approximately 6%. However, investors continue to repose faith in the industry despite these turbulent times, net equity inflows have remained positive for the last 48 months, witnessing Rs 0.29 lakh crore net inflows in February 2025 with all equity categories registering net inflows for the month. Further, the net inflows declined by 26% as compared to January 2025. Additionally, during February 2025, 28 open-ended NFOs were floated which collectively mobilised Rs.0.04 lakh crore with sectoral/thematic funds accounting for 52% share. Meanwhile, debt mutual fund categories witnessed outflows barring the liquid fund, short duration fund, medium to long duration fund, corporate bond fund, banking and PSU fund, gilt fund with 10-year constant duration. While there was marginal net outflow in debt mutual fund category, overall AUM of the category remained steady at Rs.17.08 lakh crore for the month of February 2025 owing to MTM gains.’’
Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, Motilal Oswal AMC:
“Continuous monthly market correction has led to slowdown of the sales for the first time in Feb, this could also be partially attributed to a truncated month. Allocations are being tilted towards Multi Asset Allocation, Large and Flexi categories. Investors are being cautious in allocations and may postpone or stagger in near future. Having said so, net sales of 30k cr is also a pretty healthy and the broader sentiment looks optimistic long term wealth creation perspective.”
Suranjana Borthakur, Head of Distribution & Strategic Alliances, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India)
“The SIP inflows have come down, but the drop is not significant, partly due to February being a shorter month. I believe investors should continue their SIP flows as it is a great time to accumulate units. Inflows in most equity funds have also dipped, except in the focused fund category. Sectoral funds which saw disproportionately high inflows in previous months, saw flows coming down to around to Rs 5,700 crore in spite of seven NFOs in the category which ended up garnering somewhere around Rs 2,000 crore. Overall, NFO momentum has continued 29 new fund launches, collecting somewhere around 4,000 crores.
ELSS as a category usually sees a spike during Jan- March but this month’s flows have remained subdued after the Union Budget made the new tax regime attractive. However, we believe the category is still suitable for long term investing. Debt funds have seen outflows especially those with tenures below 1 year category. We continue to see inflow in gold ETFs as this is looked at as a safe haven during such volatile times.”
Karthick jonagadla, smallcase manager and Founder & CEO of Quantace Research:
“A Market in Transition, Investor sentiment in February shifted toward stability, with small- and mid-cap inflows plunging (-35%, -34%) amid sharp index corrections (-13.8%, -10.5%). Large-cap funds saw milder outflows (-6.4%), while Focused Funds surged 64% as investors favored active management. Debt funds faced Rs6,526 crore outflows, particularly in ultra-short duration (-Rs4,281 crore), while liquid funds gained Rs4,976 crore, signaling a preference for liquidity. Despite volatility, SIP contributions remained strong at Rs26,400 crore (-0.2% MoM). Arbitrage funds (Rs3,592 crore inflows) dominated hybrid strategies as a hedge against uncertainty. With RBI’s repo at 6.25%, an expected rate cut and CPI inflation at 4.31%, debt fund appeal may revive. The 5.6%-5.9% Nifty/Sensex correction presents valuation opportunities. Investors are shifting tactically, balancing market corrections with selective high-conviction Focused Funds while awaiting clearer macro signals.”
