In a strong indication of retail investors putting their faith in mutual funds (MFs), the number of investor accounts, or folios, rose by 10 lakh in June to reach a record high of 57.82 million, reported Moneycontrol.com, citing Sebi data.
The maximum addition — 7 lakh folios — was in equity funds, the website added.
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Citing industry experts, the report said that the sharp increase in equity folios was mainly due to the buoyant mood prevailing in the stock markets last month, notwithstanding the correction witnessed in the last few days of the month over GST fears.
The by-and-large rolling out of the goods and services tax (GST) regime from July 1 gave a fresh fillip to the stock markets, catapulting the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty to new highs.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) too did not invest much in stocks and instead preferred debt during the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1), as is evident from data. In comparison to $1.6 billion inflows in June 2016 quarter,the combined debt and equity inflows spiked to $12.2 billion in Q1.
Moneycontrol.com also said that inflows into equity funds stood at Rs 7,400 crore in June, citing data published by industry body, the Association of Mutual Funds in India, or Amfi.
In sharp contrast, gold ETFs not only witnessed outflow of Rs 81 crore but also saw a decline of 4,250 investor accounts in June, mainly due to uncertainty in gold prices.
. Balanced funds added 1.90 lakh folios and equity-linked savings schemes (ELSSs) got 90,000 new accounts, the Moneycontrol.com said.
Corporates, who predominantly invest in liquid funds, were also active during the month, adding 20,000 folios during the month.
