Equity mutual fund inflows rise 19% in August; small-cap funds draw highest flows: AMFI Data

New Delhi [India], September 10 (ANI): Net inflows into open-ended equity mutual fund schemes rose nearly 19 per cent month-on-month to Rs 29,328.62 crore in August from Rs 24,697.39 crore in July, led by strong flows into small-cap and mid-cap funds, data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Thursday showed.  
Small-cap funds attracted the highest inflows among equity categories at Rs 7,973.33 crore during August, up from Rs 7,767.50 crore in July. Mid-cap fund inflows increased nearly 13 per cent to Rs 6,989.40 crore from Rs 6,192.31 crore in the previous month.
Flexi-cap funds received Rs 5,059.42 crore in August compared with Rs 4,709.08 crore in July, while large-and-mid-cap fund inflows rose to Rs 3,872.79 crore from Rs 3,425.34 crore. Multi-cap fund inflows also increased to Rs 3,732.77 crore from Rs 3,227.29 crore.  
Large-cap funds, however, remained under pressure and recorded a net outflow for the second consecutive month. Outflows stood at Rs 1,147.36 crore in August, although lower than the Rs 1,321.69 crore outflow seen in July.
Equity-linked savings schemes also continued to see redemptions exceeding fresh investments, with ELSS funds posting an outflow of Rs 1,078.32 crore in August against Rs 959.13 crore in July.
While equity flows strengthened, the broader mutual fund industry's monthly inflows fell sharply as debt schemes swung into negative territory.
Open-ended debt schemes recorded a net outflow of Rs 8,127.32 crore in August, reversing a large inflow of Rs 1,87,511.32 crore in July. The change was driven mainly by overnight funds, which saw an outflow of Rs 30,654.25 crore after receiving Rs 40,412.55 crore in July.  
Inflows into liquid funds also fell sharply to Rs 19,934.29 crore in August from Rs 1,19,065.85 crore in July, while money-market fund inflows moderated to Rs 11,734.71 crore from Rs 21,180.23 crore.
As a result, the mutual fund industry's overall net inflow fell to Rs 41,353.60 crore in August from Rs 2,35,902.39 crore in July. Despite the moderation in monthly flows, total industry assets under management increased to about Rs 87.08 lakh crore at the end of August from Rs 85.76 lakh crore at the end of July.  
Gold exchange-traded funds also saw stronger demand, with net inflows rising to Rs 2,596.70 crore in August from Rs 1,558.75 crore in July. (ANI)