Month: October 2025

A major innovation in India’s financial ecosystem has arrived — investors can now make instant payments using their mutual fund units through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

This new feature allows eligible liquid mutual fund schemes to function much like a bank account, enabling investors to redeem units instantly for payments while continuing to earn market-linked returns.

Key Features

• Instant Redemption and Payment:
  Investors can instantly redeem their mutual fund units and make payments directly via UPI — without needing to first transfer funds to a bank account.

• Supported by Leading Fund Houses:
  The facility is currently offered by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Company, in partnership with fintech platform Curie Money.

• Liquid Mutual Funds as the Base:
  These funds invest in short-term money market instruments, offering safety, liquidity, and accessibility. Investors can now use them both as an investment tool and a payment instrument.

Why This Matters for Investors and Advisors

This feature offers a dual advantage for investors:

• Funds remain invested, potentially earning better returns than a regular savings account.

• Money stays instantly accessible for daily expenses and payments.

For clients who maintain large balances in savings accounts for liquidity, this innovation provides a way to enhance returns without compromising access.

However, advisors and investors must carefully evaluate risk, taxation, and operational details before adopting this option.

For wealth managers and mutual fund distributors, this development opens a new conversation avenue with clients — one that bridges the gap between savings and investments, combining liquidity with growth potential.

Important Considerations and Risks

While “Pay with Mutual Funds” offers convenience, it’s important to understand its nuances:

• Not a Bank Account Substitute:
  Liquid funds are not risk-free. They differ from savings accounts in risk profile and capital protection.

• Tax Implications:
  Returns from liquid funds are subject to mutual fund taxation rules, not savings account interest rates. Investors should assess how this impacts their post-tax returns.

• Maintain Emergency Liquidity:
  Even with this feature, a portion of emergency funds should remain in safe, instantly accessible instruments like savings or sweep accounts.

• Platform Availability:
  The “Pay with Mutual Funds” feature depends on fund house and UPI platform support. Investors should confirm availability with their chosen fund or app before transacting.

Strategic Outlook for Clients and Advisors

Wealth managers and advisors can use this new facility to help clients optimize idle cash while ensuring liquidity.

Here’s how to position it:

• Encourage clients to allocate a portion of excess savings into liquid funds offering the “Pay with Mutual Funds” feature.

• Emphasize that this is a liquidity-enhanced investment strategy, not a substitute for all cash holdings.

• Align recommendations with the client’s risk appetite, financial goals, and tax situation.

• Stay updated on the evolving digital-payment and mutual fund integration landscape — as this innovation scales, early familiarity can strengthen advisory credibility.

  Source: TimeBull

India and the United States are moving closer to sealing a bilateral trade agreement, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a “fair and equitable” pact in the near future.

According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, negotiations are progressing steadily – marking a significant step in strengthening the two nations’ economic partnership.

Key Developments

• High-level delegation visit:
  An Indian team led by the Commerce Secretary recently concluded a three-day visit to Washington (Oct 15–17) for in-depth trade discussions.

• Phase 1 timeline:
  Negotiators are targeting the first phase of the agreement by end-2025, setting the stage for a long-term trade roadmap.

• Trade expansion goal:
  The proposed deal aims to more than double bilateral trade — from about USD 191 billion currently to USD 500 billion by 2030.

Why This Matters

For investors and advisors, the momentum in trade talks signals growing visibility and policy stability across key industries tied to global commerce.

• Export-driven & import-sensitive sectors in both nations may see improved market access and tariff relief.

• For mutual fund distributors and wealth managers, this evolving trade narrative influences themes like global supply-chain realignment, manufacturing exports, and foreign inflows – all relevant for client portfolio positioning.

Key Considerations

• Timelines remain flexible:
  While optimism is high, there’s no fixed date beyond the 2025 phase-one target.

• Tariff legacy issues persist:
  Some US duties on Indian exports remain in place, posing negotiation challenges.

• Structural alignment required:
  Achieving the ambitious USD 500 billion trade target will depend on parallel reforms, regulatory harmonisation, and investment facilitation on both sides.

Strategic Outlook for Investors & Advisors

1.Thematic Opportunities

• Exposure to manufacturing, capital goods, technology, and export-led businesses may benefit as trade flows strengthen.

• Funds focusing on global or manufacturing themes could capture upside from improving India–US trade dynamics.

2.Global Diversification Edge

• A successful agreement would reinforce India’s integration with global value chains, making the case stronger for diversified international exposure within client portfolios.

3.Risk Management

• Until the pact is formalised, investors should remain aware of policy, geopolitical, or tariff risks, particularly in export-heavy sectors.

Advisor’s Note

This development offers an excellent client conversation trigger — connecting macro policy trends to investment strategy.
Positioning portfolios for global participation, manufacturing resurgence, and export-driven growth may offer both diversification and opportunity.

Keep a close watch as the talks advance — a breakthrough by 2025 could reshape India’s trade and investment landscape for the next decade.

Source: The Economic Times

A recent analysis by ETMutualFunds reveals that 13 equity mutual fund schemes have delivered annual returns exceeding 35% since Diwali 2024. Out of 522 equity mutual funds studied, 387 schemes generated positive returns, underscoring the strength of equity markets over the past year.

Top Performing Mutual Funds

Leading the chart was Mirae Asset NYSE FANG+ ETF Fund of Fund with an impressive 74.27% return, followed by

• Invesco India Global Consumer Trends FoF – 61.42% return

• Mirae Asset S&P 500 Top 50 ETF FoF – 51.82% return

• Mirae Asset Hang Seng TECH ETF FoF – 51.22% return

Other strong performers included:

• Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund – 43.72%

• Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 FoF – 41.97%

• Edelweiss US Technology Equity FoF – 41.82%

• Mirae Asset Global X AI & Technology ETF FoF – 40.68%

• Edelweiss Greater China Equity Offshore Fund – 39.06%

• DSP World Mining Overseas Equity Omni FoF – 37.44%

• Axis Greater China Equity FoF – 36.59%

• ICICI Prudential Strategic Metal & Energy Equity FoF – 36.55%

• Mirae Asset Global Electric & Autonomous Vehicles Equity Passive FoF – 35.33%

Broader Trends and Emerging Themes

The analysis highlights the growing dominance of global and technology-oriented funds, which benefited from strong rallies in the U.S. and Asian markets. Global diversification, combined with exposure to sectors like AI, technology, and semiconductors, has been a major growth driver.

Two Edelweiss schemes — Edelweiss Europe Dynamic Equity Offshore Fund (33.39%) and Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Offshore Fund (33.07%) — also performed strongly, reflecting the resilience of international markets.

Domestic and Thematic Fund Performance

Among Indian thematic schemes, HDFC Defence Fund emerged as the standout performer with a 17.77% return since Diwali 2024, supported by India’s growing defence sector.

Motilal Oswal Multi Cap Fund (14.27%), Motilal Oswal Business Cycle Fund (13.99%), and Kotak Pioneer Fund (10.22%) followed with consistent double-digit growth.

In the large active fund space, HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (9.17%), HDFC Focused Fund (9.03%), and Aditya Birla Sun Life Transportation & Logistics Fund (9.01%) provided stable performance, while Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (7.74%) and ICICI Prudential Flexicap Fund (7.50%) maintained steady returns.

Key Insights for Investors

This performance review demonstrates how global diversification and sectoral exposure can enhance portfolio returns. Investors focusing on innovation-led and international themes have benefited the most over the past year.

The data suggests that balanced portfolios combining domestic stability with international growth opportunities could offer the best potential for long-term wealth creation.

Source: The Economic Times

The Indian mutual fund industry witnessed remarkable resilience in September 2025, despite global uncertainties and significant foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows. Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows and Gold ETFs hit record highs, reflecting strong investor confidence and the growing popularity of diversified investment options.

Mutual Fund AUM Shows Steady Growth

The average assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry grew marginally by 0.57%, reaching ₹77.78 lakh crore in September. This growth came despite FII outflows of ₹23,885 crore, highlighting the stability of domestic investor participation.

SIP Inflows Touch Record ₹29,361 Crore

September saw SIP inflows rise to ₹29,361 crore, compared to ₹28,265 crore in August, marking a new record. The total number of SIP accounts now stands at 9.73 crore, with 9.25 crore contributing accounts, up from 8.99 crore in August.

• New SIP accounts opened: 67.73 lakh

• Accounts matured/closed/paused: 44.30 lakh

Anand Vardarajan, Chief Business Officer at Tata Asset Management, said, “Equity numbers remain strong despite a flat Nifty over the past year. Primary market activity was robust in September, with several IPOs boosting investor participation. Flexicap, mid-cap, and small-cap funds continued to attract strong inflows.”

Gold and Silver ETFs See Surge in Popularity

Gold ETFs witnessed a record net inflow of ₹8,363 crore, nearly four times higher than August’s ₹2,190 crore. Silver ETFs also gained attention, with inflows of ₹5,341 crore, indicating that 72% of total passive fund inflows went into precious metals.

Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive of AMFI, noted, “The combined impacts of GST 2.0, sovereign bond ratings, and price stability have supported this performance, highlighting investors’ growing preference for diversification and safe-haven assets.”

Debt Schemes Record Net Outflows

Debt funds experienced net outflows of over ₹1 lakh crore, mainly due to advance quarterly tax payments. The largest outflows were from:

• Liquid Funds: ₹66,042 crore

• Money Market Funds: ₹17,900 crore

• Ultra-Short Duration Funds: ₹13,606 crore

Conversely, overnight funds and dynamic bond funds saw inflows of ₹4,279 crore and ₹519 crore, respectively.

Equity Schemes See Moderated Growth

Equity-oriented schemes witnessed a 9% decline in net inflows, totaling ₹30,422 crore compared to ₹33,430 crore in August.

• Flexicap Funds: ₹7,029 crore inflows

• Mid-Cap Funds: ₹5,085 crore inflows

• Small-Cap Funds: ₹4,363 crore inflows

• Sectoral Funds: ₹1,221 crore (down 69% from August)

Dividend yield funds and ELSS were the only equity categories to see outflows this month.

Jatinder Pal Singh, CEO, ITI Mutual Fund, commented, “Equity inflows moderated for the second consecutive month, reflecting portfolio rotation rather than investor retreat. Categories such as value/contra funds (+85%) and focused funds (+22%) continued to attract strong interest.”

Hybrid and Solution-Oriented Schemes

Net inflows into hybrid and solution-oriented schemes declined by 38%, totaling ₹9,683 crore.

• Multi-Asset Allocation Funds: ₹4,982 crore inflows (up from ₹3,528 crore)

• Equity Savings Schemes: ₹1,747 crore inflows

• Outflows were observed in conservative hybrid and arbitrage funds.

Passive Funds Maintain Momentum

Passive funds recorded a 67% growth in net inflows, with gold ETFs leading the charge. Other ETFs also witnessed inflows of ₹8,151 crore, up from ₹7,244 crore in August.

Suranjana Borthakur, Head of Distribution & Strategic Alliances, Mirae Asset Investment Managers, said, “Gold and silver ETFs are seeing sustained interest as investors build allocations for safety and diversification. We expect this trend to continue barring sharp market corrections.”

Source: Cafemutual

The Indian mutual fund industry has grown nearly tenfold in a decade from ₹8 lakh crore in 2014 to ₹77.51 lakh crore in Aug 2025- poised to cross ₹100 lakh crore.

💡 What’s driving this surge?
-> Increasing financial awareness among households
-> The rising popularity of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs)
-> Easy-to-use digital platforms making investing seamless and accessible

Mutual funds are no longer confined to big cities- investors from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations are joining in, making wealth creation more inclusive and widespread across India.

Key Industry Highlights:
-> YoY Growth: +14.0% (~₹9.49 lakh crore higher than Aug 2024)
-> MoM Growth: -0.2% (~₹0.18 lakh crore decrease from Jul 2025)
-> Top 5 AMCs (SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Nippon, Kotak) control ~56% of total industry AUM.
-> Next 5 AMCs (Aditya Birla, UTI, Axis, Mirae, DSP) control ~20% of total industry AUM.
-> Total amount collected through SIP during August 2025 was ₹ 28,265 crore ( v/s ₹ 23,547 crore in Aug 2024, 20% YoY growth)
-> Passive fund inflows + SIP growth are driving YoY momentum in mid-sized AMCs like PPFAS, WhiteOak, Motilal Oswal.

As traditional savings like gold and real estate give way to smarter, market-linked options, mutual funds are emerging as the preferred choice- offering professional management, disciplined investing, and the unmatched power of compounding.

Stay invested, stay consistent, and let the power of mutual funds work for your financial future.