MF RECORD INFLOWS

) In a possible record-setting year in terms of money invested in mutual funds, all the fund houses together attracted total net inflows of Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the first 11 months of 2012-13. The net inflow of Rs 1.85 lakh crore between April 2012 and February 2013 is the highest-ever figure for this period of any financial year and follows a net outflow of over Rs 70,000 crore in the previous two fiscals put together, as per the latest data available with market regulator Sebi. The figures for the month of March 2013 are yet to be made public by Sebi. The inflows of Rs 1.85 lakh crore during the 11 months of fiscal 2012-13 also exceed the total funds attracted by the mutual funds during an entire financial year so far. The record amount for a full financial year so far was seen in 2007-08 when fund houses recorded a net inflow of Rs 1.54 lakh crore. At gross level, mutual funds mobilised over Rs 65.97 lakh crore in the first 11 months of 2012-13, while there were outflows worth Rs 64.13 lakh crore as well -- resulting into a net inflow of Rs 1.85 lakh crore. Of these total funds mobilisation, a large chunk of inflows was seen going into private sector mutual funds (Rs 1.52 lakh crore) followed by public sector (Rs 17,938 crore). However, there was a net outflow of over Rs 22,000 crore during 2011-12, while a net amount of more than Rs 49,000 crore moved out of the mutual funds' kitty during 2010-11. Mutual funds pool together money from many investors and invest it on their behalf, in accordance with a stated set of objectives. The record funds mobilisation by mutual funds could be attributed to a slew of reform measures taken by the government and regulator Sebi. This significant level of fund mobilisation has also helped the total asset under management of mutual funds to grow to Rs 8.13 lakh crore at the end of February, 2013. The last fiscal also witnessed a record inflow of Rs 1.4 lakh crore by FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors), helping the BSE's benchmark Sensex rise by over eight per cent. However, mutual funds offloaded shares worth over Rs 21,000 crore during the first 11 months of fiscal 2012-13. On the contrary, MFs took a bullish stance on the debt market, where they invested Rs 4.05 lakh crore during the same period. At the end of February, there were a total of 1,222 schemes under mutual funds, of which 793 schemes were Income/ Debt oriented while 342 schemes were growth/equity related.