AMFI data: Small and midcaps remain investor favourites as large caps lose money, Gold ETFs gain

AMFI Mutual fund investors put ₹29,328.62 crore into equity schemes in August, an 18.7% increase from July, according to the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

The rise was led by strong demand for small-cap and mid-cap funds, while large-cap schemes recorded their second consecutive month of net outflows. Gold ETFs also saw a sharp increase in inflows, while multi-asset allocation funds continued to attract substantial investor interest

Mid and small-cap funds continue to attract investors

Small-cap funds led the key market-cap categories with ₹7,973.33 crore of inflows in August, compared with ₹7,767.50 crore in July. Mid-cap funds followed with ₹6,989.40 crore, rising from ₹6,192.31 crore a month earlier.

Large and mid-cap funds attracted ₹3,872.79 crore, while flexi-cap funds received ₹5,059.42 crore.

The stronger flows into these categories came alongside continued SIP participation. Gaurav Goyal, chief business officer at Canara Robeco Asset Management Company, said the ₹32,297 crore SIP contribution in August, together with strong equity inflows, showed that investors were increasingly staying invested through market cycles.

“The opportunity for the industry now lies in converting this growing participation into deeper and longer-term investor relationships,” Goyal said.

Gold ETFs see 67% jump in monthly inflows

Gold ETFs recorded ₹2,596.70 crore in net inflows in August, significantly higher than ₹1,558.75 crore in July. Their assets under management also increased to ₹1.91 lakh crore from ₹1.73 lakh crore.

Silver ETFs attracted another ₹1,270.63 crore during the month. The rise in precious-metal ETF flows came alongside continued demand for equity, suggesting that investors were adding diversification rather than moving entirely away from risk assets.

Saugata Chatterjee, president and deputy CEO at Nippon India Mutual Fund, said sustained interest in Gold ETFs, along with consistent flows into multi-asset allocation funds, reflected a growing preference for diversification and balanced portfolio allocation amid global uncertainty.

Large-cap funds remain in the red

Large-cap funds were among the few major equity categories to see net withdrawals in August. The category recorded an outflow of ₹1,147.36 crore, although this was lower than the ₹1,321.69 crore outflow in July. This marked the second consecutive month of net outflows from large-cap funds.

Assets under management in the category stood at ₹4.14 lakh crore at the end of August, compared with ₹4.16 lakh crore in July.

The divergence between large caps and other equity categories was also visible in the flow numbers. While large-cap funds saw withdrawals, mid-cap, small-cap, large-and-mid-cap and flexi-cap schemes all registered positive flows.

Suranjana Borthakhur, head of distribution and strategic alliances at Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), said large caps saw outflows for the second consecutive month, while mid- and small-caps continued to strengthen. She attributed the latter trend partly to steady SIP flows and growing conviction among distributors, while noting that BFSI and IT, which are more large-cap-heavy sectors, had delivered relatively tepid returns.

Multi-asset allocation funds remain a diversification play

Multi-asset allocation funds continued to attract substantial investor interest, recording ₹3,670.97 crore in net inflows in August. The figure was marginally lower than ₹3,753.38 crore in July.

The broader hybrid category received ₹10,045.34 crore in August. Arbitrage funds accounted for another ₹3,789.02 crore, while balanced advantage funds recorded an outflow of ₹227.90 crore.

Chatterjee of Nippon India Mutual Fund said the continued flows into multi-asset allocation funds, alongside Gold ETFs, point to investors seeking diversification and balanced portfolios amid global uncertainty.

Taken together, the August numbers show a stronger equity-flow environment, but with investors becoming more selective about where they deploy money. Mid- and small-cap funds continued to command strong interest, while large caps remained under pressure and diversification-oriented products such as Gold ETFs and multi-asset funds retained investor attention.