Redemptions in equity funds flat MoM but inflows are up, says Subramaniam of Sundaram Mutual Fund

With the coronavirus outbreak spreading across the globe, there is impact seen on various equity markets and other asset classed. Sunil Subramaniam, MD & CEO of Sundaram Mutual Fund talking about its impact on MF industry, said at the retail levels customers are not worried about equity market volatility.

Speaking about the month of March, he said, “The flows have continued to remain strong in the first week of March. In fact, when there was a severe correction last week, the flows were positive in terms of gross inflows. I am surprised to see the resilience at this point of time of the retail investor. So you can say that the investor has matured or the fact that domestic investors are still looking at it from a positive view in the market and the view continues for this month."

The redemptions in equity funds are flat month on month but inflows have gone up, he said, adding that debt funds continued to be challenged especially with AT-1 write-offs.

“Retail investors over the last few months have been more worried about debt than about equity and that’s reflecting in their thought process,” added Subramaniam.

When asked about ETF inflows, he said, “Provident funds are allocating money into ETFs and that’s largely institutional money flow which has gone into the ETFs. Provident funds are permitted to put 5-10 percent into equities but they take a call based on valuation.”