Equity Mutual Fund Inflows Rise 8% To ₹25,978 Crore In February; Mid And Small Cap Funds Lead

Equity mutual funds saw stronger investor participation in February 2026. According to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), net inflows into equity funds increased by more than 8% month-on-month to ₹25,978 crore.

In comparison, equity funds had received ₹24,029 crore in January 2026. The rise in inflows indicates that retail investors continued investing in equities despite market volatility and corrections in some segments.

SIP Contributions Decline Slightly

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows saw a small decline during the month. SIP investments dropped 4% to ₹29,845 crore in February, compared to ₹31,002 crore in January.

This was the first drop after SIP contributions remained above ₹30,000 crore for two consecutive months.

Flexi Cap Funds Continue To Attract Investors

Among equity categories, flexi cap funds attracted the highest inflows. These funds received ₹6,925 crore in February, although this was slightly lower than ₹7,672 crore recorded in January, showing a decline of nearly 10%.

Mid And Small Cap Funds See Strong Demand

Mid-cap and small-cap funds witnessed strong investor interest during the month.

• Mid-cap funds recorded inflows of ₹4,003 crore, up from ₹3,185 crore in January, reflecting a rise of about 26%.
• Small-cap funds attracted ₹3,881 crore, compared to ₹2,942 crore in the previous month, marking a 32% increase.

Meanwhile, large and mid-cap funds received ₹3,138 crore, which was almost similar to ₹3,182 crore in January.

Sectoral And Thematic Funds Gain Popularity

Sectoral and thematic funds saw a sharp increase in investments. These funds received ₹2,987 crore in February, nearly three times higher than ₹1,043 crore in January.

Large-cap funds also recorded slightly higher inflows of ₹2,112 crore, while multi-cap funds attracted ₹1,934 crore, slightly lower than the previous month.

Focused funds and value or contra funds received ₹901 crore and ₹727 crore, respectively.

ELSS Funds Continue To See Outflows

Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) continued to experience withdrawals for the second straight month. The category reported outflows of around ₹650 crore in February, following ₹594 crore outflows in January.

This may be due to tax-related redemptions or reduced new investments during the tax season.

Debt Fund Inflows Decline Sharply

Debt mutual funds recorded a significant fall in inflows during February. Net inflows into debt schemes dropped 44% to ₹42,106 crore, compared to ₹74,827 crore in January.

Within debt funds:

• Liquid funds attracted the highest inflows of ₹59,077 crore, almost double the ₹30,682 crore seen in January.
• Money market funds received ₹6,267 crore, lower than ₹12,763 crore in January.
• Overnight funds saw an outflow of ₹14,006 crore, after recording large inflows in the previous month.

Corporate bond funds also recorded outflows of ₹2,302 crore, though lower than the ₹11,473 crore outflow in January.

Hybrid Funds See Lower Inflows

Hybrid mutual funds recorded ₹11,983 crore in inflows in February, which was lower than ₹17,356 crore in January.

Within this category, multi-asset allocation funds remained the most popular, attracting ₹8,476 crore, though lower than ₹10,485 crore in the previous month.

Index Funds Gain Interest, Gold ETFs See Lower Inflows

Index funds saw a strong recovery in investor interest, receiving ₹3,233 crore in inflows, compared to just ₹27 crore in January.

On the other hand, gold ETFs saw a decline in inflows, which dropped to ₹5,254 crore from ₹24,039 crore in the previous month. Investments in other ETFs also decreased significantly.

Also Read: SEBI Introduced Debit Freeze Facility for Mutual Funds Investors: What You Need to Know!

Mutual Fund Industry AUM Hits Record High

Despite fluctuations across categories, the overall assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry reached a new milestone. Total AUM rose 12.54% to ₹82.03 lakh crore, compared to ₹81.01 lakh crore in January.

Conclusion

Equity mutual funds saw higher inflows in February as investors continued to invest despite market volatility. Mid-cap and small-cap funds remained popular, while the mutual fund industry’s total AUM reached a record high.

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