Equity mutual funds (MFs) applied brakes to buying stocks in July even as the benchmark indices rallied 9 percent. A report by Business Standard stated that they invested just ₹4,712 crore into stocks last month compared to ₹22,051 crore in June and ₹28,248 crore in May.
"The moderation in MF investments comes amid a revival in foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows. In July, FPI flows turned positive — albeit marginally - after a gap of 11 months. Typically, MFs step up buying when FPIs sell and go slow when FPIs buy," it explained.
Maruti Suzuki attracted the highest MF flows, at ₹1,342 crore, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank ( ₹822 crore). On the other hand, HDFC (net outflows of ₹1,245 crore) and ITC (- ₹873 crore) were the most-sold stocks, noted BS.
In the mid-cap space, the most-bought stocks were Zomato ( ₹502 crore) and Gland Pharma ( ₹452 crore), while the most sold were Polycab India ( ₹272 crore) and PVR ( ₹175 crore). Meanwhile, Sapphire Foods ( ₹302 crore) and Granules India ( ₹168 crore) saw the highest MF inflows among small-caps, while Birlasoft ( ₹90 crore) and Metropolis Health ( ₹73 crore) saw the highest outflows, added the report.'
However, assets under management (AUM) of equity mutual funds reached a new high of ₹15.2 lakh crore in July 2022, up 10.3 percent from June 2022. For the overall MF industry, the total AUM increased 6 percent to 37.7 lakh crore in July 2022 – primarily led by a rise in AUM for equities, other ETFs, balanced, and income funds. Contributions in systematic investment plans (SIPs) also remained strong at ₹12,140 crore in July 2022 – an eleventh consecutive month of over ₹10,000 crore investment in the category.
