New Delhi, March 10 Equity mutual funds attracted net inflows of ₹25,978 crore in February, marking an 8 per cent increase from the previous month, suggesting that investor participation remained resilient despite intermittent market volatility and global uncertainties.
The increase followed two consecutive months of moderation in equity inflows. The inflow lifted the industry's Assets Under Management (AUM) to ₹82 lakh crore in February from ₹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 inflows 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 ₹29,845 crore in February from ₹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.
Based on the data, equity inflows rose to ₹25,978 crore in February, higher than the ₹24,028 crore seen in the preceding month. Equity inflows were at ₹28,054 crore in December and ₹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 ₹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 ₹4,003 crore, higher than ₹3,185 crore in January, while small-cap funds garnered around ₹3,881 crore, up from ₹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 ₹2,987 crore, while large-cap funds saw net additions of ₹2,112 crore. However, ELSS funds recorded a net outflow of ₹650 crore, suggesting some profit booking or reduced tax-saving investments during the period. Overall, the industry recorded net inflows of ₹94,530 crore during the month, lower than the ₹1.56 lakh crore registered in January.
Inflows into Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) moderated to ₹5,255 crore in February, from a record infusion of ₹24,040 crore in January and ₹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 ₹42,106 crore compared with ₹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 ₹59,077 crore.