New Delhi: Equity mutual funds attracted net inflows of Rs 25,978 crore in February, marking an 8 per cent rise from the previous month, suggesting that investor participation remained resilient despite intermittent market volatility and global uncertainties.
The increase came following two consecutive months of moderation in equity inflows, the inflow lifted the industry’s Assets Under Management (AUM) to Rs 82 lakh crore in February from Rs 81 lakh crore in January, according to data released by industry body Amfi on Tuesday.
In a conference call, Venkat N Chalasani, CEO of Amfi said that positive inflow in equities could be driven by the India-US trade deal.
“There could be some volatility this month due to the escalating Middle East conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran but India’s growth story will continue in the long-term,” he added.
However, SIP (Systematic Investment Plans) inflows dipped slightly to around Rs 29,845 crore in February from Rs 31,000 crore in the preceding month.
According to Chalsani, February’s SIP collections were impacted by the shorter month because installments scheduled for the 29th, 30th and 31st typically process in early March, slightly deferring a portion of contributions to the following month.
Going by the data, equity inflows rose to Rs 25,978 crore in February, higher than the Rs 24,028 crore seen in the preceding month. Equity inflows were at Rs 28,054 crore in December and Rs 29,911 crore in November.
“February 2026 was another volatile month for markets, yet the Indian mutual fund industry demonstrated remarkable resilience. This is a clear signal that investors are increasingly looking at long-term and past short-term volatility,”Varun Gupta, CEO, Groww Mutual Fund said.
Within equity schemes, flexi cap funds attracted the highest net inflow of Rs 6,924.65 crore. Also, there has been a sharp pickup in flows into the mid-cap and small-cap categories.
Mid-cap funds attracted net inflows of about Rs 4,003 crore, higher than Rs 3,185 crore in January, while small-cap funds garnered around Rs 3,881 crore, up from Rs 2,942 crore in the previous month.
“This indicates that investors continued to selectively allocate towards higher-growth segments despite valuation concerns, possibly taking advantage of recent market corrections,” said Himanshu Srivastava, Principal Research, Morningstar Investment Research India.
Sectoral and thematic funds also saw inflows of Rs 2,987 crore, while large-cap funds saw net additions of Rs 2,112 crore.
However, ELSS funds recorded a net outflow of Rs 650 crore, suggesting some profit booking or reduced tax-saving investments during the period.
Overall, the industry recorded net inflows of Rs 94,530 crore during the month, lower than the Rs 1.56 lakh crore registered in January.
Inflows into Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) moderated to Rs 5,255 crore in February, from a record infusion of Rs 24,040 crore in January and Rs 11,647 crore in December.
“The recent volatility and strong returns in gold and silver attracted significant investor interest, and the current outflows from precious metal ETFs appear to be a phase of profit booking after a strong rally,” said Santosh Joseph, CEO of Germinate Investor Services.
Debt-oriented mutual fund categories continued to see healthy net inflows in February, though at a slower pace than the previous month, garnering Rs 42,106 crore compared with Rs 74,827 crore in January.
“The moderation suggests that while liquidity flows remained supportive, the strong treasury redeployment observed in January post year-end had started to taper off,” Nehal Meshram, Senior Analyst - Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said.
Inflows were primarily concentrated at the shorter end of the yield curve, with liquid funds emerging as the top-performing category, attracting Rs 59,077 crore.