Mutual fund assets up Rs2,00,000 crore in 2012

India's mutual fund industry is perhaps the biggest gainer in 2012 with assets under management rising by Rs2,00,000 crore to Rs8,00,000 crore, as the industry staged a smart recovery from two years of downturn.

Total assets under management (AUM) of all the fund houses put together rose 30 per cent with all categories, including fixed income, gold schemes and liquid funds, recording strong inflows.

Combined assets under management of mutual fund houses in the country stood at Rs8,00,000 crore towards the close of 2012 against Rs6,11,000 crore at the end of 2011, Rs6,26,000 crore at the end of 2010 and Rs6,65,000 crore at end-2009, industry estimates show.

The incremental turnover of Rs2,00,000 crore in 2012
owes in part to some wide-ranging reforms initiated by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Mutual funds are yet to realise the full potential of the new guidelines and the industry is hopeful of even better days in 2013.

Net inflow into mutual funds is expected to pick up further in 2013 as the government and the market regulator announces fresh measures to revive equity culture in the country and increasingly channelise household incomes into stocks, mutual funds and insurance sectors.

Income and liquid funds contributed the most to the industry's rising AUM. Money market funds' AUM surged to Rs1,77,000 crore with inflows of Rs89,302 crore while liquid fund assets under management rose to Rs3,87,000 crore with inflows of Rs80,880 crore.