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Industry Outlook and Leadership Insights
Going ahead, fund flows are likely to be guided by valuations and global developments, with investors increasingly favouring large-cap, diversified and hybrid strategies, he added.
Key Inflows and Investor Base Expansion
These inflows lifted the industry’s assets under management (AUM) by 21 per cent from Rs 67 lakh crore at the end of 2024 to Rs 81 lakh crore by November-end.
While the pace of growth was lower than the 31 per cent rise recorded in 2024 and the 27 per cent increase in 2023, the longer-term trend remains strong.
The industry had posted a 7 per cent growth in 2022 and nearly 22 per cent in 2021, and has collectively added Rs 50 lakh crore to its asset base over the last five years.
Himanshu Srivastava, Principal Manager, Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said the sharp rise in AUM in 2025 was driven by a combination of strong equity market performance and sustained retail participation through SIPs.
He added that the “ongoing financialisation of household savings, growing participation from first-time investors and increasing preference for mutual funds as a transparent, well-regulated investment vehicle also played a meaningful role”.
“Over the medium to long term, rising financial awareness, broader retail participation beyond metropolitan centres, and the sustained adoption of SIPs should continue to support healthy, resilient, and broad-based growth for the industry,”Chalasani said.
Also, the industry has now logged its 13th consecutive annual increase in AUM, after two years of decline earlier in the last decade, suggesting the structural shift toward long-term investing. This momentum was largely supported by steady inflows into equity schemes, especially through SIPs.
The 49-player industry recorded total inflows of Rs 7 lakh crore in 2025 till November, backed by sustained investor interest in equity funds, arbitrage funds, and index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Of this, around Rs 3.22 lakh crore flowed into equity-oriented schemes and nearly Rs 3 lakh crore into debt schemes.
Equity schemes, which were the biggest draw for investors in 2025, have now seen uninterrupted monthly net inflows since March 2021.
Srivastava noted that these flows were driven by strong SIP contributions and continued confidence in India’s long-term growth story.
Net inflows into equity-oriented schemes stood at Rs 3.53 lakh crore, reflecting the structural shift toward disciplined, long-term investing.
SIP Contributions: The Backbone of Growth
SIP contributions remained the backbone of flows, consistently crossing Rs 29,000 crore in September, October and November, and peaking at an all-time high of Rs 29,529 crore in October.
Moreover, the annual investments through SIPs crossed Rs 3.03 lakh crore in 2025, the highest ever.
Highlighting this trend, Harsh Jain, Co-founder and COO of Groww, said the steady rise in SIP inflows points to a deep structural change in investor behaviour, with SIPs increasingly becoming the default investment route across income groups, especially among younger investors.
Flows in Debt and Gold Funds
On the debt side, flows were supported by attractive yields, expectations of a softer interest-rate cycle and greater use of debt funds for short-term cash management, along with their growing role in diversification during volatile phases, Morningstar’s Srivastava said.
Gold funds also saw increased traction, garnering inflows of Rs 31,300 crore as investors sought safety amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical risks and changes in taxation norms. Its AUM shot up from Rs 44,595 crore in December 2024 to Rs 1.10 lakh crore in November 2025.
On the regulatory front, Sebi revamped the mutual fund expense framework by introducing the Base Expense Ratio (BER), which excludes statutory levies such as STT and GST from core costs. Brokerage caps were cut and the additional exit load introduced in 2018 was withdrawn, with the new rules set to take effect from April 1 next year to enhance transparency for investors.
