Top 5 cities account for over 52 pc of Mutual Fund assets, women investor base rises

Indian Express

19-05-2025

India's mutual fund assets are heavily concentrated in the top five cities, with Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Kolkata collectively accounting for a staggering 52.52 per cent of the country's total mutual fund assets under management (AUM) as of March 2025.
This means as much as Rs 34.52 lakh crore of total AUM corpus of Rs 65.74 crore came from these five cities.
Mumbai, the financial capital, leads the pack with a 27 per cent share (Rs 17.75 lakh crore), followed by New Delhi with 12.63 per cent, Bengaluru with 5.39 per cent, Pune with 4 per cent and Kolkata with 3.49 per cent. This trend is consistent with the previous year's data, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The dominance of these cities highlights the skewed distribution of mutual fund investments in India.
'Since most of the corporates are headquartered in these five cities, their investments (in mutual fund schemes) also get accounted there. This is the reason that the numbers are always skewed,' said A Balasubramanian, Managing Director & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.
The MF industry had a total of 5,34,20,840 unique investors as of March 2025; of this, 25.91 per cent (or 1,38,40,740) were women. This represents a marked increase from 24.2 per cent in March 2024, underscoring the growing financial independence and awareness among women. 'The rise in literacy rates and the growing presence of women in the workforce have been instrumental in enhancing their economic contributions and, as a result, women are now emerging as a key participant in the MF investor base,' AMFI said in its Annual Report.
Individual investors, including high-net-worth individuals, retail investors and non-resident Indians (NRIs), hold 63.2 per cent of the total industry AUM (Rs 65.74 lakh crore) – consistent with the previous year's trend (63.4 per cent). As of March 2025, individual investors hold 65 per cent of AUM in equity funds, 18 per cent in hybrid funds, 9 per cent in debt funds and 7 per cent in passive funds, it said.
According to AMFI, a notable observation is that in most states, individual investors accounted for more than 63 per cent of the MF AUM, with the exceptions being New Delhi (52.77 per cent) and Maharashtra (48.22 per cent). In fact, in several states –Lakshadweep, Tripura, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Puducherry – individual investors dominate with over 95 per cent of AUM.
The investment landscape has evolved over the years, with shifting investment preferences among individuals across different age brackets. A key trend observed in the net flows is the increased risk appetite of investors, who are seeking higher returns. 'Data shows a shift towards more aggressive investment strategies, particularly among younger investors, whereas older investors prioritise risk management through diversification,' AMFI said.
AMFI analysis reveals that younger investors are more inclined to take on higher risks, as can be gauged from their significantly higher share of net flows in the equity segment whereas the older investors exhibit a more cautious approach, with comparatively lower percentage of net flows in equity and higher allocation towards debt. Notably, in the higher age brackets, the investors are increasingly opting for hybrid schemes, which provides a balanced blend of growth and stability.
As many as 70 NFOs in the equity category were launched in fiscal 2025, collectively mobilising Rs 85,244 crore, marking a significant increase from the 58 schemes launched in fiscal 2024, which garnered Rs 39,297 crore. Sectoral/ thematic funds emerged as the largest category within equity followed by Flexi-cap and Mid-cap. Together, the three categories accounted for 43 per cent share of the total equity AUM as at end-March 2025, AMFI said.
Equity mutual funds saw a record inflow of Rs 4.17 lakh crore, the highest ever in a financial year. The net inflows during the year exceeded twice the net inflows in the previous year. 'This, combined with valuation gains, propelled the AUM of equity-oriented schemes by 25.4 per cent to Rs 29.45 lakh crore at end-March 2025. During the same period, Nifty TRI rose by 6.7 per cent,' it said.
The mutual fund (MF) industry ended fiscal 2025 with AUM at a record Rs 65.74 lakh crore in March 2025 as against Rs 53.40 lakh crore in March 2024, marking an on-year rise of 23.11 per cent. The expansion in the AUM was primarily driven by robust net inflows during the fiscal year, reflecting sustained investor interest. Additionally, mark-to-market (MTM) gains provided a supplementary boost, underpinned by positive performance in both equity and debt markets.
According to SBI Funds Management Ltd's Deputy Managing Director & Joint Chief Executive Officer, DP Singh, another important factor for higher contribution to the total MF AUM from the top five cities is that most of the country's wealth is also concentrated in these locations.