Mutual Fund Industry Ends FY26 with US$ 790.07 Billion AUM as SIP Inflows Hit Record High

India’s mutual fund industry closed FY26 on a stronger footing, with total assets under management rising 12.2% year-on-year to ₹73.73 lakh crore, or about US$790.07 billion, according to data highlighted by IBEF and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The year-end number underlines the sector’s continued expansion even as equity markets turned volatile in the closing months of the financial year. AMFI’s own March 2026 data also showed the industry’s average assets under management for the month at ₹79.46 lakh crore.

A deeper look at the numbers shows that the mutual fund story in India is increasingly being powered by a widening retail base. AMFI said total folios stood at 27.39 crore as of March 31, 2026, while equity, hybrid and solution-oriented schemes together accounted for about 20.83 crore folios. The industry has also expanded dramatically over the longer term: AUM has grown from ₹12.33 trillion in March 2016 to ₹73.73 trillion in March 2026, a roughly sixfold rise in ten years.

Retail participation remained especially resilient in March despite market turbulence. AMFI’s monthly note showed equity funds recorded positive inflows for the 61st consecutive month, with net inflows of ₹40,450 crore, more than 1.5 times February’s level. Flexi-cap funds led the category for the eighth straight month with inflows of ₹10,054 crore, pointing to continued investor preference for diversified equity exposure in an uncertain market environment.

Systematic Investment Plans, or SIPs, remained the industry’s most important stabilising force. Monthly SIP contributions crossed the ₹32,000 crore mark for the first time in March, reaching a record ₹32,087 crore. Even after market corrections, SIP assets stood at ₹15.11 lakh crore, accounting for 20.5% of the industry’s total assets. That suggests retail investors are still treating mutual funds as a disciplined long-term savings route rather than reacting purely to short-term volatility.

At the same time, March exposed the pressure points beneath the headline annual growth figure. Total industry AUM fell 10.1% month-on-month from ₹82.03 lakh crore in February to ₹73.73 lakh crore in March, largely because of mark-to-market losses in equity schemes and heavy redemptions from debt funds. AMFI’s monthly note said debt-oriented schemes saw net outflows of about ₹2.95 lakh crore, with advance-tax related withdrawals contributing to the decline. In other words, FY26 ended with healthy annual growth, but the final month showed that market swings and treasury-driven debt redemptions can still sharply affect the industry’s short-term asset base.

For the broader financial system, the takeaway is significant. The mutual fund industry is still growing, still adding investors, and still attracting record SIP money even when market conditions turn difficult. That combination of scale, retail participation and recurring inflows suggests India’s mutual fund market is maturing into a deeper domestic capital pool, one that is becoming increasingly important for household financial savings as well as for the wider equity market. This last point is an inference based on the sustained rise in AUM, folios and SIP contributions shown in AMFI’s March 2026 data.

---

Reference:

https://www.ibef.org/news/indian-mutual-fund-industry-s-aum-rises-12-2-to-us-790-07-billion-in-fy26
https://www.amfiindia.com/articles/indian-mutual
https://www.amfiindia.com/uploads/AMFI_Monthly_Note_Mar_2026_1f0a1f5c48.pdf

---