The Indian mutual fund industry’s quarterly average assets under management (AUM) posted their highest percentage and absolute annual growth since the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) started declaring quarterly AUM in September 2010.
The industry grew 26.29%, or by ₹3.53 trillion, to reach a new high of ₹16.93 trillion (excluding fund of funds) in the year ended December 2016. Equity and short-term debt funds were the biggest contributors. Average AUM grew 5.13%, or by ₹826.10 billion, one-quarter. Investor confidence in equity funds has been growing despite a muted performance by the asset class for the second consecutive year. The category attracted inflows of ₹967.84 billion in 2016 and ₹1.18 trillion in 2015 even though equity benchmark Nifty 50 returned 3% and -4%, respectively, in the mentioned periods. The category’s assets jumped 23.88% during the year to close at a record high of ₹5.63 trillion in December 2016. Assets gained 4.74% or ₹254.49 billion in the quarter ended December led by inflows, despite the Nifty 50 losing 4.94% in the same period.
