In April 2025, net inflows into equity mutual funds fell by 3.2% month-on-month, totaling Rs 24,269.26 crore, as reported by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The shift in investor sentiment became evident as midcap and smallcap funds saw declines in inflows, while largecap funds witnessed a renewed interest.
Notably, midcap funds experienced a 3.6% dip, with net inflows of Rs 3,313.98 crore, while smallcap funds saw a 2.3% drop, totaling Rs 3,999.95 crore. However, largecap funds bucked the trend, posting a 7.8% rise in inflows, reaching Rs 2,671.46 crore.
Despite these shifts, Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) saw a record surge, with Rs 26,632 crore in inflows for April — marking the highest ever single-month contribution. Even though the industry cleaned up inactive SIP accounts, the number of active SIP accounts rose to 8.38 crore, up from 8.11 crore in March.
In April, the net assets under management (AUM) of the multi cap fund showed a continuous increase, reaching Rs 183,133 crore from Rs 175,724 crore. The AUM of the large cap fund also saw growth, reaching Rs 374,520 crore in April. There was a significant inflow of funds in the flexi cap fund, with mobilized funds increasing from Rs 9,249 crore in March to Rs 10,026 crore in April.
The sectoral/thematic fund category saw the largest increase, with a remarkable 1,076.4% rise in inflows, totaling Rs 2,000.95 crore, showing strong investor interest in specialised funds.
While debt funds also saw solid inflows of Rs 2.19 lakh crore, the month was marked by a shift in preferences, with more cautious, large-cap-oriented strategies gaining popularity amidst market volatility.
The overnight debt fund also experienced a positive turnaround in April, with inflow reaching Rs 118.656 crore, as opposed to the negative outflow of Rs 133,034 crore in March.
“Despite market volatility and a minor 3.2% dip in net inflows, equity AUM has grown 4% month-on-month, and industry AUM has grown by 6%, reaching a record of ₹69.9 trillion. On the other hand, SIP contributions remained robust, registering a record ₹26,632 crore in inflows. Notably, investor sentiment held firm even as returns in small- and mid-cap segments turned negative over the 3–6 month period. Rather than exiting, investors strategically rotated capital, as evidenced by a remarkable 10-fold increase in inflows into sectoral and thematic funds. Participation from beyond the top 30 (B30) cities also remained steady, accounting for 18% of the total AUM. This consistency reflects the deepening reach of mutual fund penetration across India’s non-metro regions. Overall, data suggests that Indian investors are disciplined, informed, and increasingly aligned with long-term investing,” said Feroze Azeez, Joint CEO, Anand Rathi Wealth Limited.
Himanshu Srivastava, the Associate Director- Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, reported that equity-oriented open-ended mutual funds continued to experience strong investor participation in April 2025, with net inflows amounting to Rs 24,269 crore. While this represents a slight decrease of 3.24% from the previous month’s inflows of Rs 25,082 crore, Srivastava noted that the level of flows remained significant despite the challenging global environment and escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22.
