Debt fund inflows, however, dropped 62% to ₹45,169 crore, down from ₹1.19 lakh crore last month.
Large-cap funds saw a significant rise in inflows, growing 293% to ₹2,636 crore, up from ₹670 crore in July.
Commenting on the trend, Manish Mehta, Head of Sales, Digital & Marketing at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, said, “From a valuation point of view, we have been telling advisors and clients that large-caps are probably where one should allocate new money. Either in the form of large-cap funds or in flexi-cap or multi-cap funds, with a bias towards large-caps. This is reflected in the increasing inflows at the industry level.”
Mid-cap funds attracted ₹3,054 crore, compared to ₹1,644 crore last month, and small-cap funds saw inflows of ₹3,209 crore, a slight dip from ₹4,171 crore in July.
Multi-cap funds collected ₹2,475 crore in August, up from ₹1,703 crore in July.
Flexi-cap funds led the equity categories with ₹3,513 crore in inflows, a jump from ₹2,081 crore in July. Value/contra funds brought in ₹1,728 crore, while dividend yield funds saw ₹499 crore.
Sectoral/thematic funds continued strong, with ₹18,117 crore in inflows.
However, focused funds experienced a net outflow of ₹83 crore, and ELSS funds recorded outflows of ₹205 crore.
Equity assets under management (AUM) surpassed the ₹30 lakh crore mark in August.
Akhil Chaturvedi, Chief Business Officer at Motilal Oswal AMC, noted the balanced inflows across equity categories: “There’s a good balance between multi-cap, large-cap, and small-cap funds, all within the range of ₹2,500 to ₹3,500 crore. It’s a positive development for the market. Sectoral funds, driven by NFOs, continue to perform strongly, with ₹18,000 crore allocated there.”
Inflows via new fund offerings (NFOs) amounted to ₹13,815 crore, with ₹10,202 crore contributed by thematic NFOs alone.
Over 63 lakh new Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) were registered in August.