MUTUAL FUND FOLIOS NEARING 23 CRORE MARK
Between December 2024 and January 2025, total number of mutual fund folios grew from 22.50 Crore folios to 22.92 Crore; an accretion of 1.87%. These are folios or unique mutual fund accounts, and the actual unique investors in mutual funds mapped on PAN is about 5.5 Crore. Over the last 10 years, mutual fund folios have grown from 3.95 Crore to 22.92 Crore; an accretion of 5.8 times. However, the one thing that fund managers would be wary about is the spike in SIP closures; with SIP stoppage ratio spiking to above 100%. But, more about that later. For now, here is how folios grew in January 2025.
MF FOLIOS: MACRO PICTURE FOR JANUARY 2025
Here is the macro picture of mutual fund folio growth for January 2025; across open-ended and close-ended funds?
| Macro picture | Total Folios Jan-25 | Total Folios Jan-24 | Folio Growth |
| Open ended Funds | 22,86,68,244 | 16,89,77,923 | 35.32% |
| Closed Ended and Interval Funds | 5,31,133 | 5,81,259 | -8.62% |
| Grand Total | 22,91,99,377 | 16,95,59,182 | 35.17% |
Data Source: AMFI
At a macro level, the total number of mutual fund folios as of January 2025 stood at 22.92 Crore; compared to 22.50 Crore folios in December, 22.08 Crore in November, 21.65 Crore in October, 21.05 Crore in September, and 20.45 Crore in August 2024. On a yoy basis, growth in total folios for January 2025 stood at 35.17%; compared to 36.46% in December, 36.46% in November, 35.61% in October, 34.00% in September, and 32.60% in August 2024. The monthly traction has slowed, largely due to a spike in the SIP closures.
ACTIVE DEBT FUND FOLIOS AGAIN CONTRACT IN JANUARY 2025
Debt fund folios are under pressure for last couple of years and that trend continues. However, debt funds, being institutional products, rely less on folios. For January 2025, active debt fund folios contracted by -4.45%; compared to -5.17% in December, -5.10% in November, -2.51% in October, and -3.24% in September 2024. The reversal of treasury outflows has helped the contraction to come down in January 2025.
| Active Debt Funds | Total Folios Jan-25 | Total Folios Jan-24 | Folio Growth |
| Long Duration Fund | 89,737 | 48,073 | 86.67% |
| Gilt Fund | 2,12,095 | 1,79,926 | 17.88% |
| Liquid Fund | 18,59,454 | 17,84,696 | 4.19% |
| Dynamic Bond Fund | 2,23,226 | 2,20,330 | 1.31% |
| Ultra Short Duration Fund | 6,47,113 | 6,39,365 | 1.21% |
| Medium to Long Duration Fund | 1,02,194 | 1,01,729 | 0.46% |
| Money Market Fund | 4,31,072 | 4,38,028 | -1.59% |
| Short Duration Fund | 4,45,014 | 4,61,888 | -3.65% |
| Corporate Bond Fund | 5,30,127 | 5,69,907 | -6.98% |
| Gilt Fund with 10Y fixed duration | 35,624 | 38,720 | -8.00% |
| Low Duration Fund | 8,17,516 | 8,92,255 | -8.38% |
| Banking and PSU Fund | 2,36,157 | 2,62,869 | -10.16% |
| Medium Duration Fund | 2,10,503 | 2,35,134 | -10.48% |
| Floater Fund | 1,96,582 | 2,20,693 | -10.93% |
| Credit Risk Fund | 1,82,448 | 2,14,675 | -15.01% |
| Overnight Fund | 6,30,458 | 8,60,396 | -26.72% |
| Sub Total – Active Debt Funds | 68,49,320 | 71,68,684 | -4.45% |
Data Source: AMFI
Out of the 16 categories of debt funds, only 6 categories showed positive growth in folios, with folios of medium to long duration funds growing less than 1% yoy. The leader in terms of folio growth was, once again, Long Duration Funds at 86.67% yoy, followed by gilt funds at 17.88%. Five active debt funds saw double-digit folio contraction yoy; including overnight funds, credit risk funds, floater funds, medium duration funds, and Banking & PSU funds.
ACTIVE EQUITY FUNDS ADD 4.41 CRORE FOLIOS YOY IN JAN-25
In January 2025, active equity funds added 4.41 Crore folios compared to 4.45 Crore folios in December 2024. For active equity funds, the yoy folio expansion for January 2025 stood at 37.9%; compared to 39.4% in December, 39.5% in November, 38.9% in October, 37.7% in September, and 36.4% in August 2024.
| Active Equity Funds | Total Folios Jan-25 | Total Folios Jan-24 | Folio Growth |
| Sectoral/Thematic Funds | 3,03,71,441 | 1,61,37,536 | 88.20% |
| Multi Cap Fund | 91,23,745 | 56,27,683 | 62.12% |
| Mid Cap Fund | 2,04,60,332 | 1,33,16,071 | 53.65% |
| Dividend Yield Fund | 11,84,976 | 8,36,896 | 41.59% |
| Value Fund/Contra Fund | 81,06,495 | 58,24,994 | 39.17% |
| Small Cap Fund | 2,45,88,422 | 1,78,96,929 | 37.39% |
| Large & Mid Cap Fund | 1,15,61,541 | 88,80,611 | 30.19% |
| Flexi Cap Fund | 1,73,30,407 | 1,37,76,248 | 25.80% |
| Large Cap Fund | 1,57,23,013 | 1,33,46,810 | 17.80% |
| ELSS | 1,69,45,224 | 1,57,28,518 | 7.74% |
| Focused Fund | 51,79,012 | 50,93,488 | 1.68% |
| Sub Total – Active Equity Funds | 16,05,74,608 | 11,64,65,784 | 37.87% |
Data Source: AMFI
In January 2025, all the 11 active equity fund categories witnessed accretion in folios; although the growth in folios was tepid in focused funds and ELSS funds. The big boost to folio accretion in equity funds came from sectoral funds, multi-cap funds, mid-cap funds, dividend yield funds, value/contra funds, and small cap funds. A total of 4 equity categories saw folio accretion of over 40%. This list includes sectoral funds, multi-cap funds, mid-cap funds, and dividend yield funds. It does appear like a desperate alpha hunt by investors!
HYBRID FUNDS – ALLOCATION FUNDS LEAD THE FOLIOS STORY
All the 8 Hybrid and solution funds have shown yoy growth. Multi-asset allocation funds leads the pecking order, but other allocation funds also saw traction.
| Hybrid / Solution Funds | Total Folios Jan-25 | Total Folios Jan-24 | Folio Growth |
| Multi Asset Allocation Fund | 29,04,933 | 18,22,102 | 59.43% |
| Arbitrage Fund | 5,81,194 | 4,78,260 | 21.52% |
| Equity Savings Fund | 4,75,190 | 3,95,788 | 20.06% |
| Dynamic Asset Allocation/BAF | 50,90,495 | 45,15,525 | 12.73% |
| Balanced Hybrid Fund/Aggressive | 57,34,895 | 53,65,185 | 6.89% |
| Retirement Fund | 29,88,765 | 28,48,950 | 4.91% |
| Children’s Fund | 30,59,797 | 29,70,835 | 2.99% |
| Conservative Hybrid Fund | 5,46,784 | 5,34,546 | 2.29% |
| Sub Total – Hybrid Funds | 2,13,82,053 | 1,89,31,191 | 12.95% |
Data Source: AMFI
The 8 hybrid funds added 2.45 Million folios in the last 1 year; with 4 out of these 8 reporting double-digit folio growth. The best folio growth was once again in multi asset allocation funds at 59.43%, followed by Arbitrage funds at 21.52%, Equity Savings Funds at 20.06%, and Balanced Advantage Funds (BAFs) at 12.73%. Allocation funds are the flavour among hybrids. For hybrid category funds, folios grew 12.95% yoy in January 2025; compared to 14.28% in December, 14.31% in November, 14.0% in October, 13.5% in September, and 13.8% in August 2024. Hybrid funds are now synonymous with allocation.
PASSIVE FUNDS ADD 1.35 CRORE FOLIOS YOY IN JAN-25
The big story among passive funds in January 2025 is the sharp revival in retail interest in gold funds; with the yellow metal at an all-time high.
| Passive Funds | Total Folios Jan-25 | Total Folios Jan-24 | Folio Growth |
| Index Funds | 1,27,61,464 | 67,02,645 | 90.39% |
| Other ETFs | 1,92,31,856 | 1,31,80,494 | 45.91% |
| GOLD ETF | 64,97,498 | 49,72,469 | 30.67% |
| Fund of funds investing overseas | 13,71,445 | 15,56,656 | -11.90% |
| Sub Total – Passive Funds | 3,98,62,263 | 2,64,12,264 | 50.92% |
Data Source: AMFI
Global uncertainty led to folio contraction in international fund of funds (FOF) for the fifth month in a row. Passive fund folios grew 50.92% yoy, the best among all categories. Index funds dominated folio growth at 90.39%, followed by index ETFs at 45.91%, while gold ETFs is gaining traction with 30.67% yoy growth in January 2025. Passive fund folio growth in January 2025 stood at 50.92%; compared to 52.4% in December, 52.4% in November, 49.7% in October, 45.7% in September, and 42.6% in August. The price fall and the SIP closures are having some impact on the passive folios growth too.