Equity Mutual Fund Inflows Rise 31% to ₹38,307 Crore in September, Reach Five-Month High

Key Takeaways:

• Equity mutual funds received net inflows of ₹38,306.55 crore in September 2026, compared with ₹29,328.62 crore in August. 
• Small-cap funds attracted ₹9,038.57 crore, followed by mid-cap funds with ₹7,834.84 crore. 
• Despite higher equity investments, overall mutual fund industry assets declined as debt schemes witnessed heavy withdrawals. 

Equity Mutual Fund Inflows Increase in September 2026 

Net inflows into equity mutual funds increased by approximately 31% month-on-month to ₹38,306.55 crore in September 2026, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on 12 October. 

The figure represents an increase of ₹8,977.93 crore over August's inflows of ₹29,328.62 crore and marks the strongest monthly collection for equity schemes in five months. 

The increase occurred during a period of weakness in domestic equity markets and continued selling by foreign portfolio investors. Domestic mutual fund subscriptions nevertheless remained positive across several major equity categories. 

Small-Cap and Mid-Cap Schemes Lead Investments 

Small-cap mutual funds recorded the highest net inflows among equity categories at ₹9,038.57 crore, compared with ₹7,973.33 crore in August. 

Mid-cap mutual funds followed with ₹7,834.84 crore, against ₹6,989.40 crore in the preceding month. 

Flexi-cap funds attracted ₹6,701.80 crore, reflecting an increase of approximately 32.5% over August's ₹5,059.42 crore. 

Other categories also registered positive subscriptions. Large-and-mid-cap funds received ₹4,271.22 crore, while multi-cap schemes collected ₹3,859.55 crore. 

Large-cap funds returned to positive territory with inflows of approximately ₹859 crore following two consecutive months of net withdrawals. 

However, the trend was not uniform. Equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS) recorded net outflows of around ₹662 crore, while contra funds experienced withdrawals of ₹97.88 crore. 

Higher Inflows Do Not Prevent Decline in Equity AUM 

Although equity schemes received more money during September, their assets under management declined from approximately ₹39.21 lakh crore in August to ₹37.54 lakh crore. 

The difference highlights how changes in the market value of existing portfolios can outweigh the effect of new investments. 

At the broader industry level, substantial withdrawals from debt mutual funds also influenced September's aggregate asset and flow figures. 

Debt-oriented schemes reported approximately ₹1.83 lakh crore in net outflows, with liquid and money market funds accounting for much of the withdrawals. 

The September figures therefore show contrasting trends within the mutual fund industry: equity schemes continued attracting net subscriptions, while short-duration debt categories experienced redemptions. 

AMFI's monthly data measures net purchases and redemptions. It does not establish whether the investors making new purchases subsequently earned positive returns.