Equity mutual funds attracted ₹28,054 crore in December, marking a decline of over 6% from the preceding month, according to data released by industry body Amfi on Friday.
The easing of equity inflows coincided with a marginal contraction in the mutual fund industry's overall asset base with the total Assets Under Management (AUM) slipping to ₹80.23 lakh crore in December from ₹ 80.80 lakh crore in November, reflecting the impact of heavy withdrawals from debt schemes.
Overall, the mutual fund industry reported net outflows of ₹66,591 crore during the month, largely on account of steep redemptions from debt schemes, even as equity and gold funds continued to draw investor interest, the data showed.
1 January 2026
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While equity inflows softened sequentially from ₹29,911 crore in November, though it remained higher than ₹24,690 crore in October.
Most equity sub-categories continued to see positive traction in December, barring dividend yield and ELSS (equity-linked saving schemes) funds.
Flexi-cap funds emerged as the top performer with net inflows of ₹10,019 crore, up from ₹8,135 crore in November, highlighting their growing appeal in uncertain market conditions.
This was followed by mid-cap funds at ₹4,176 crore, large & mid-cap funds at ₹4,094 crore and small-cap funds at ₹3,824 crore. Besides, large-cap funds attracted inflows of ₹1,567 crore.
In contrast, ELSS and dividend yield funds recorded net outflows of ₹718 crore and Rs 254 crore, respectively, pointing to profit-booking and seasonal tax-related adjustments.
On the other hand, debt mutual funds witnessed a massive outflow of ₹1.32 lakh crore in December, compared with net outflows of ₹25,692 crore in November, dragging the overall industry into negative territory.
Amid this divergence, investors also showed renewed interest in safe-haven assets. Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows surge to ₹11,647 crore in December, sharply higher than ₹3,742 crore in November and ₹7,743 crore in October.
