₹100 trn AUM just 3-4 yrs away: MF CEOs

The mutual fund (MF) industry's strong growth in recent years is backed by structural changes in the household investment pattern and that is why the industry is unlikely to see a major slowdown if the equity market were to enter the bear phase, according to top MF executives.

- ABHISHEK KUMAR

The mutual fund (MF) industry's strong growth in recent years is backed by structural changes in the household investment pattern, and that is why the industry is unlikely to see a major slowdown if the equity market were to enter the bear phase, according to top MF executives.

Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, the heads of some of the largest fund houses said the momentum in the MF inflows can take the assets under management (AUM) past the ₹100 trillion milestone in the next three-four years. The AUM has doubled in the past three years and is currently around ₹67 trillion. "The AUM has doubled in the last three years. For the AUM to reach ₹100 trillion, it has to add only another 50 per cent. I don't think it should take more than three-four years to reach the milestone," said D P Singh, Joint CEO, SBI Mutual Fund.

He said the growth in AUM is partly a result of the market rally. "Just to put things into perspective, mark-to-market gains accounted for a substantial portion of growth in AUM in recent years. The surge is not just because of the net inflows," he said.