Mutual Fund Assets Rise 143% In Five Years, Equity And Passive Funds See Strongest Growth

India’s mutual fund assets under management stood at ₹85.76 lakh crore in July 2026, compared with ₹35.32 lakh crore in July 2021, according to ICRA Analytics. That marks a 143% increase over five years, with equity and passive products accounting for a large part of the expansion.

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Equity AUM Rises To ₹38.40 Lakh Crore

The equity fund assets stood at ₹38.40 lakh crore in July 2026, up 224% from ₹11.87 lakh crore in July 2021.

Passive funds saw a steeper rise. Combined assets managed through exchange-traded funds and index funds rose 324% to ₹15.15 lakh crore from ₹3.57 lakh crore.

The increase was also reflected in investor accounts. Mutual fund folios across categories rose to 28.09 crore in July 2026 from 10.55 crore in July 2021.

Equity folios increased to 18.75 crore from 7.18 crore. Passive fund folios rose to 5.54 crore from 0.92 crore over the same five-year period.

The figures point to a wider investor base alongside the increase in assets held in equity and passive schemes.

Debt Funds Record Modest AUM Growth

The debt-oriented funds saw a comparatively smaller increase. Their AUM rose 27% to ₹19.46 lakh crore in July 2026 from ₹15.28 lakh crore in July 2021.

The number of debt fund folios moved to 0.95 crore from 0.81 crore.

Ashwini Kumar, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Data at ICRA Analytics, said the five-year figures showed a change in how investors were allocating money within the mutual fund industry. He pointed to the continued expansion of equity schemes and the growing presence of passive products.

Kumar also said the increase in both AUM and folios across these categories indicated that the shift was accompanied by broader participation.

Hybrid Funds Also Expand

Hybrid funds recorded a 183% rise in AUM over the five years. Assets in the category stood at ₹11.68 lakh crore in July 2026, compared with ₹4.12 lakh crore in July 2021.

Flow data showed mixed growth across categories. Net inflows into debt-oriented funds increased 192.5% over the five-year period. Equity fund inflows rose 19%, while ETF net inflows increased 70.8%.

ICRA Analytics expects equity schemes to remain a key contributor to mutual fund industry growth, while passive products could account for a larger share of new allocations.

The five-year figures show that the industry’s expansion has not been evenly distributed across categories. Equity, passive and hybrid funds have recorded substantially stronger AUM growth than debt schemes, while the overall number of mutual fund folios has also increased significantly.