Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows achieved another historic milestone in August 2026, reaching ₹32,297 crore, marking a 3.8% increase from July's ₹31,861 crore and a 14% surge from August 2025's ₹28,265 crore. According to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), this performance was recorded despite turbulent equity markets amid geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices. The contributing SIP account also hit an all-time high of ₹10.2 crore, with new accounts opened jumping to 1.3 million - the highest monthly addition in six months - while accounts closed were 53.82 lakh, bringing total active accounts to 107.5 million. Equity inflows rose 19% month-on-month to ₹29,329 crore compared to ₹24,697 crore in July, demonstrating continued investor confidence despite market volatility. As per The Times of India, this marked the highest net inflow in four months, with the last such level seen in April 2026 at ₹38,440 crore. Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive of AMFI, noted that the fund industry extended a trend observed for some time as SIP inflows climbed to a record high even as the market remained volatile on global cues.
The August performance builds on SIP's historic FY26 achievement of ₹2 trillion, with net SIP inflows accounting for 56% of gross SIP investments of ₹3.5 trillion. As per Sebi's annual report, this represents an improvement from 54% in FY25, demonstrating the resilience of long-term investment strategies among retail investors. The data reveals a notable shift in SIP behavior patterns during market volatility, with redemptions from SIP accounts reaching ₹1.5 trillion in FY26, representing a 15% increase from ₹1.3 trillion in FY25. However, this growth rate was significantly slower than previous years, with redemptions growing 57% in FY24 and 18% in FY25.
The equity market correction significantly impacted SIP account additions during FY26, with SIP accounts growing by only 4 million compared to nearly 17 million net additions in FY25. According to Sebi data, the equity market has experienced turbulence since September 2024, with the Nifty 50 index ending down over 5% during the two-year period ending March 2026. Meanwhile, the Nifty Smallcap 250 index remained flat, while the Nifty Midcap 150 gained 6% during the same period. However, mid-cap funds received the higher inflow of ₹6,989 crore in August, up from ₹6,192 crore in July, while large-cap fund outflows were down marginally to ₹1,147 crore from ₹1,322 crore in July. As per The Times of India, smallcap funds attracted the highest net inflows of ₹7,973 crore in August, followed by midcap funds at ₹6,989 crore, while large-cap funds witnessed net outflows of ₹1,147 crore. Small-cap inflows grew 2.6% from a higher base in July to ₹7,973 crore, while mid-cap inflows rose about 13% to ₹6,989 crore, with record high monthly buying in both segments. Flexi-cap funds also saw healthy inflows of ₹5,059 crore during the month. The newly introduced life-cycle funds attracted inflows of ₹8 crore during August. The renewed growth momentum comes as returns of smallcap and midcap funds have risen back to attractive levels, with average one-year returns of smallcap funds at 12.8% and midcap funds at 7.8% according to Value Research data.
Industry professionals attribute the strong net SIP performance to evolving investor behavior and market education. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive of AMFI, noted that despite geopolitical concerns and rising crude prices, investors continued to believe in India's growth story and the RBI's ability to absorb $127 billion has been a significant achievement, considering past experiences. Manish Mehta, Chief Business Officer at SBI Mutual Fund, said that while new fund offer (NFO) mobilisations of ₹3,051 crore in equity schemes and ₹1,848 crore in other categories contributed to net sales, mid-cap and small-cap schemes continued to account for a significant share of inflows. Harish Krishnan, CIO - Equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said the growing strength of equity inflows reflects sustained participation in the broader market and confidence in India's long-term growth prospects, while cautioning that the small-cap segment requires careful differentiation given wide dispersion in valuations. Saugata Chatterjee, President and Deputy CEO of Nippon India Mutual Fund, noted that record-high SIP contributions and a moderating stoppage ratio underscore the growing investment discipline among Indian investors. Gaurav Goyal, Chief Business Officer at Canara Robeco AMC, said robust SIP inflows and steady equity investments indicate that investors are not only participating in the markets but are also remaining invested through market cycles with a focus on long-term wealth creation.
The strong SIP performance contributed to significant industry growth, with overall assets under management increasing to ₹87.07 lakh crore from ₹85.76 lakh crore, largely due to mark-to-market gains. This growth demonstrates the continued expansion of India's mutual fund industry despite challenging market conditions. As per The Times of India, SIP assets stood at ₹18.6 lakh crore as of August 31, up 2.8% on the month, while the number of contributing SIP accounts was at a little over 10 crore. The 19% increase in equity inflows in August, combined with the record SIP performance, indicates sustained investor appetite for long-term equity investments despite short-term volatility. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, the overall mutual fund industry saw a decline in net inflow to ₹41,353 crore in August compared to a staggering ₹2.36 trillion in July, primarily driven by debt-oriented schemes experiencing an outflow of ₹8,127 crore as compared to an inflow of ₹1.88 trillion in July. Meanwhile, gold ETFs also continued to attract money in August, recording net inflows of ₹2,597 crore, sharply higher than the ₹1,559 crore inflow registered in July. Inflows into gold ETFs jumped 67% month-on-month to ₹2,597 crore in August, while equity funds have now registered net inflows for a record 66 consecutive months. Silver ETFs also attracted ₹1,270.63 crore, and multi-asset allocation funds recorded ₹3,670.97 crore in August inflows, marginally below July's ₹3,753.38 crore. The broader hybrid category received ₹10,045.34 crore, including ₹3,789.02 crore into arbitrage funds, while balanced advantage funds saw an outflow of ₹227.90 crore. Contributing SIP accounts excludes folios that paused their investments for the month, and SIP accounts are declared inactive if the transactions fail to go through three consecutive times.
