The mutual fund industry’s total assets under management (AUM) rose 11.1 per cent month-on-month to Rs 81.9 trillion in April 2026, while equity AUM increased 11.4 per cent month-on-month to an all-time high of Rs 39.1 trillion, according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services’ latest report.
The report noted that net equity inflows moderated to Rs 431 billion in April 2026 from Rs 485 billion in March 2026. Sales of equity schemes declined 14.3 per cent month-on-month to Rs 878 billion, while redemptions declined 16.9 per cent month-on-month to Rs 447 billion.
Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) contributions stood at Rs 311.2 billion in April 2026, down 3 percent month-on-month and up 16.8 per cent year-on-year.
The report highlighted that the Nifty gained 7.5 per cent month-on-month in April 2026, marking its highest monthly gain since January 2024.
Sectorally, mutual funds increased exposure towards Capital Goods, NBFC – Lending, Utilities, Retail, NBFC – Non Lending, Chemicals, Real Estate, Logistics, and EMS during April 2026. In contrast, allocation towards Technology, Private Banks, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Automobiles, Telecom, Insurance, and Cement moderated on a month-on-month basis.
Capital Goods allocation rose to 7.8 per cent in April 2026, a 17-month high, while Utilities allocation increased to 3.9 percent, a 19-month high. NBFC-Non Lending allocation climbed to an all-time high of 2 per cent.
Technology allocation declined to 6.7 per cent, an eight-year low, while Private Banks allocation moderated to 17.3 per cent.
The report further stated that the sectors where mutual fund ownership versus the BSE-200 was at least 1 percent lower included Oil & Gas, Consumer, Utilities, Private Banks, and PSU Banks. Sectors where mutual fund ownership was at least 1 percent higher included NBFC – Non Lending, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, and Chemicals.
Among stocks, the maximum increase in value month-on-month was seen in ICICI Bank, SBI, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, and Eternal.
The report also observed that mutual funds were net buyers in 64 per cent of Nifty-50 stocks, 57 percent of Nifty Midcap-100 stocks, and 63 per cent of Nifty Smallcap-100 stocks during April 2026.
