Month: April 2025

Equity Mutual Funds Play Safe with ₹2 Lakh Cr Cash Buffer: Amid heightened global tensions and uncertainty, India’s equity mutual funds held over ₹2 Lakh Crore in cash as of March 2025 — among the highest levels on record. Despite a rebound in the latter half of the month, fund managers remained cautious, curbing fresh equity investments in a volatile environment.

Caution Creeps In: AMCs Raise Cash Buffers, Cut Equity Bets: The average cash holding ratio among the top 20 AMCs rose to 5.59% in March, up from 5.43% in February, reflecting a cautious stance amid market volatility. This caution is evident in mutual fund’s lowest monthly net equity investments of just ₹13,459 crore in March 2025 since January 2024, a sharp dip from previous months.

Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund and SBI Contra Fund have cash holding ratios exceeding 24%, among the highest in active equity schemes. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund and SBI Small Cap Fund maintain over 21% in cash.

Contra/Value Funds and Flexi Cap Funds have the largest overall cash piles — ₹19,564 Cr and ₹45,115 Cr respectively. Midcap and Smallcap categories, still hold ₹24,016 Cr and ₹25,803 Cr in cash, hinting that fund managers are waiting for better entry points.

PPFAS MF leads with the highest cash holding ratio of 21.86%, driven by its cautious flexi-cap strategy. Motilal Oswal MF and Quant MF follow with 14.83% and 10.30%, respectively, as they pare equity bets amid volatile conditions. Large players like SBI MF, HDFC MF, and ICICI Pru MF lead in absolute cash holdings — SBI MF alone holds over ₹38,000 Cr in cash.

For a comprehensive understanding and more insights, please go through our detailed report.

Equity MFs Surge on Market Momentum: Equity mutual funds saw a robust 7.5% jump in Net AUM, rising to ₹29.45 Lakh Cr in March. This sharp uptick came on the back of broad-based market gains in the second half of the month.

Fund Managers Exit Key Stocks Amid Strategic Realignment: Some equity mutual funds in March fully exited major holdings including IndusInd Bank, Aavas Financiers, ITC Hotels, Eternal, BSE, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Dabur India, Mphasis, KEI Industries, HCL Tech, NTPC Green, Info Edge, Vishal Mega Mart and Hyundai Motors. This broad-based portfolio exit reflects a strategic shift as fund managers realign positions to tap into emerging opportunities and evolving market trends.

Fresh Bets: Equity MFs Build Positions in Key Growth Stocks: Some equity mutual funds are actively ramping up fresh positions in March across a mix of financials, metals and consumer facing stocks. Top additions include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Interglobe Aviation, Manappuram Finance, Muthoot Finance, SRF, JSW Steel, Avenue Supermarts, Coforge, Vedanta and PB Fintech—highlighting renewed confidence in select growth and value-driven opportunities.

MFs Buy Into Bharat Forge & Persistent; Trim IndusInd & Dixon in Mid-Cap Realignment: Equity mutual funds poured fresh investments into Bharat Forge, Persistent Systems, Hitachi Energy, Max Financial Services, PB Fintech, Coforge and ICICI Lombard General Insurance, reflecting strong confidence in these mid-cap names. Meanwhile, some funds trimmed holdings in IndusInd Bank, Dixon Technologies and SBI Cards, signaling a strategic portfolio reshuffle.

MFs Load Up on TBO Tek & JB Chem; Exit MCX & Karur Vysya in Strategic Small-Cap Shift: Equity mutual funds aggressively bought into TBO Tek, Sundaram Fasteners, JB Chemicals & Pharma, Navin Fluorine, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and Aster DM Healthcare, signaling strong conviction in these small-cap names. On the other hand, notable sell offs were seen in Karur Vysya Bank, Amber Enterprises, MCX and PG Electroplast.

For a comprehensive understanding and more insights, please go through our detailed report.

Mutual Fund industry’s average AUM dropped 1.30% MoM to ₹66.70 lakh Cr in March amid ₹1.64 lakh Cr outflows and broad mark-to-market losses.

Equity funds logged ₹25,080 Cr inflows in March, marking the 49th straight month, but down 14% to an 11-month low.

Debt AUM fell 4.41% in March with ₹2.03 lakh Cr pulled out due to year-end corporate needs and global uncertainty.

SIP inflows dropped for the third straight month to ₹25,926 Cr — a 4-month low amid market volatility.

In FY 2025, Equity-oriented schemes’ net inflows surged 127%; Passive fund inflows more than doubled to ₹1.43 lakh Cr., and inflows in Sectoral/Thematic category topped all MF segments, fueled by a wave of NFOs.

For more details read through our comprehensive Mutual Fund Flow Report for March, 2025.

Sector Shuffle: FPI Flows in March & YTD 2025
Big Bets on Financials & Telecom in March – FPIs invested ₹14,274 Cr in Financial Services, making it the top-performing sector in March. Telecommunication followed with ₹3,073 Cr and Metals & Mining drew ₹1,901 Cr. Realty, Chemicals, Media, and Healthcare also saw smaller inflows.

Tech & FMCG Face the Heat – Information Technology saw the highest selling pressure in March with outflows of ₹8,451 Cr, while FMCG followed with ₹5,593 Cr in withdrawals. Other sectors like Oil & Gas, Consumer Services, and Auto Components also witnessed sizable exits.

YTD: FMCG & Financials See Maximum Pullout – From January to March 2025, FPIs pulled out ₹17,925 Cr from FMCG and ₹17,662 Cr from Financial Services. Consumer Services, IT, and Auto Components were also hit by consistent selling.

Selective Buying Shows Long-Term Conviction – Despite net outflows, FPIs showed focused buying in select sectors. Telecommunication led with ₹11,215 Cr YTD inflow, followed by interest in Chemicals, Media & Entertainment, and Textiles—highlighting confidence in India’s domestic growth stories.

For a comprehensive understanding and more insights, please go through our detailed report.

Mutual Fund Industry Average AUM Slips 1.73% in Q4, But FY25 Ends with a Roaring 24.56% Rise!

Mid & Small Cap Jitters Drag MFs Average AUM in Q4: The Average AUM of the mutual fund industry declined by 1.73% to ₹67.43 Lakh Cr in Jan–Mar 2025, pressured by sharp corrections in midcap and smallcap segments. However, FY25 ended on a high with a robust 24.56% growth, powered by record SIP inflows and a flurry of New Fund Offers (NFOs) that sustained strong investor momentum.

Motilal Oswal Tops Average AUM Growth Chart: Despite equity market corrections, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund recorded the highest absolute growth in Average AUM for the Jan–Mar 2025 quarter, followed closely by PPFAS and ICICI Mutual Fund. Backed by strong inflows, their performance underlines the intense competition and evolving momentum driving the mutual fund space.

MF Rankings Stay Rock Solid—Tata Breaks Into Top 10: The mutual fund industry continues to show impressive stability, with the top 3 and top 8 players holding their ranks steady for 15 straight quarters. Tata Mutual Fund made a notable entry into the top 10, overtaking DSP and Mirae. Meanwhile, Mirae Mutual Fund slipped out of the top ten in terms of Average AUM, marking a shift in the competitive dynamics.

SBI MF Average AUM Holds Strong Above ₹10 Lakh Cr Mark : SBI Mutual Fund achieved a historic high of ₹11.13 Lakh Cr in AAUM during the Oct–Dec 2024 quarter. While the Jan–Mar 2025 quarter saw a slight dip to ₹10.72 Lakh Cr, it remained above ₹10 Lakh Cr. Retaining its top position for the 21st consecutive quarter, SBI MF continues to lead with unwavering investor trust.

Rising Stars in Mutual Funds: Tata, Invesco, PPFAS, Motilal Oswal, Bajaj Finserv, Bank of India and Old Bridge Mutual Fund have climbed the ranks, marking strong progress over previous quarters.

Top Gainers by Percentage: New-Age AMCs Shine – In Jan–Mar 2025, Zerodha, Trust, Old Bridge, Helios, Bajaj Finserv, WhiteOak Capital, Motilal Oswal, and PPFAS Mutual Funds delivered standout percentage growth in Average AUM, reflecting their accelerating momentum and rising investor traction across recent quarters.

19 AMCs Defy the Trend with Positive AUM Growth: Despite the overall dip in mutual fund Average AUM and corrections in equity schemes, 19 asset management companies bucked the trend and recorded positive growth in their average AUM during the Jan–Mar 2025 quarter.

For a comprehensive understanding and more insights, please go through our detailed report.