Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) India’s mutual fund industry reached a new milestone in March, with total assets under management (AUM) rising to an all-time high of Rs 65.74 lakh crore, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) data on Friday.

This marks an increase from Rs 64.53 lakh crore in February. Equity AUM saw a healthy jump of 7.6 per cent, increasing from Rs 27.4 lakh crore in February to Rs 29.5 lakh crore in March.

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) contributions touched Rs 25,926 crore during the month, according to the AMFI data.

All 11 equity mutual fund categories saw positive inflows in March, with flexi-cap funds leading the pack. The flexi-cap category attracted the highest inflow of Rs 5,615 crore, up from Rs 5,104 crore in February.

Small-cap funds followed closely, recording the second-highest inflow of Rs 4,092 crore during the month -- a gain of 10 per cent.

The inflows into midcap funds also saw a slight increase of 0.9 per cent, reaching Rs 3,438.87 crore, as per AMFI data.

However, certain fund categories showed signs of investor caution. Large-cap funds witnessed outflows of Rs 2,479 crore, though the pace slowed compared to Rs 2,866 crore in February.

Dividend yield funds nearly doubled their inflows to Rs 140.5 crore in March, up from Rs 68.7 crore a month earlier.

New Fund Offers (NFOs) remained steady, collecting Rs 4,085 crore in March, slightly more than Rs 4,029 crore in February.

The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) witnessed strong inflows of Rs 10,962 crore, nearly tripling from the previous month.

Around 30 open-ended mutual fund NFOs were launched in March, collectively raising Rs 4,085 crore. Of these, 11 were index funds, which mobilised Rs 2,049 crore, while 10 other ETFs brought in Rs 90 crore.

Meanwhile, last month, the AMFI data showed that the SIPs in India witnessed robust growth during the financial year 2024–25 (April-February), with contributions touching Rs 2,63,426 crore.

This was a sharp 32.23 per cent increase compared to the Rs 1,99,219 crore collected during the same period in FY24.