The asset under management (AUM) of the equity mutual funds increased to around Rs

RELATED ARTICLES India a safe investment destination:Moily Retail investors scared over Facebook investment Warburg leads $32 million investment in Quickr Volkswagen puts on hold Rs 2k cr investment in Maharashtra Mutual funds AUM up 16% in April: Crisil

1,60,000 crore in May from Rs 1,23, 648 crore in April, largely because of capital appreciation due to a 25 per cent jump in equity markets.

The net inflow in equity funds during May was around Rs 2,000 crore but the increase in AUM during the month was

Rs 37,000 crore. In April, there was net outflow of Rs 106 crore from equity funds and the assets under management of these funds increased by around Rs 15,000 crore.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark index, Sensex, rose from 11, 635 points to 14,625 points in May. This include the 2,000 point jump in the Sensex on May 18, 2009, the first trading day after the United Progressive Alliance got a clear majority in the parliamentary polls.

Jagannadham Thunu- guntla, equity head, SMC Capital, said, for the past two-three months, AUM of mutual fund industry has been growing mainly due to the rally in the equity markets. “However, fund houses failed to make the most of the rally as the equity markets rose 17-18 per cent on a single day (May 18), which ironically was a no-transaction day for funds,” he said adding that one-third of the 6,000-point surge since March 9 was not volume-based (no transaction took place on May 18). Naresh Garg, chief executive officer of Sahara Mutual Fund, said a Rs 2,000 crore inflow in a month is not bad in times of volatility. “Many mutual fund houses have already lined up a few new funds for launches, and this will lead to a rise in fresh inflows,” he added.

ICICI Prudential Target Return Fund, the subscription of which closed in May, collected Rs 800 crore. Reliance Mutual Fund’s Infrastructure Fund, which is open till June 23, has already created a lot of buzz in the

market.

Arindam Ghosh, chief executive officer, Mirae Assets, said investors’ sentiment is improving and inflows are also coming not just through systematic investment plans but also through lump sum investment.

On new fund offers, Ghosh said, “In India, around 51 per cent of the mutual funds’ growth is NFO-based.”

dipakmondal@mydigitalfc.com