Mutual fund assets swell by 145% from 2020 in the northeast

Northeastern States' mutual fund investments surge, indicating growing investor interest in equities, with Assam leading the pack.

GUWAHATI

The average net assets under management (AAUM) of the northeastern States has grown by nearly 145% from the 2020 level, an analysis of investments in mutual funds (MF) has revealed.

MF investments rose from ₹16,446 crore in March 2020 to ₹40,324 crore in March 2024, indicating a growing appetite among investors from smaller towns and cities, the study by ICRA Analytics said.

The share of the northeastern States increased to 0.73% of the total AAUM of the MF industry, which stood at ₹55.01 lakh crore in March 2024, up from around 0.67% in March 2020, when the industry’s AAUM stood at ₹24.71 lakh crore.

“Although the contribution of the northeastern region to the total AAUM of the industry is still small in percentage terms, there has been a steady and consistent growth in MF inflows in these States backed by increasing awareness among people and the growing interest among retail investors for investing in equities through the MF route,” ICRA Analytics’ senior vice president and head of market data, Ashwini Kumar, said on Monday.

With an AAUM of ₹29,268 crore, Assam was the leading contributor in the northeast, accounting for nearly 73% of the total investment in March 2024. The AAUM of Assam grew by almost 159% in the last five years, up from ₹11,298 crore in March 2020.

Meghalaya accounted for 9% of the total AAUM at ₹3,623 crore in March 2024, clocking a 111% growth of over ₹1,714 crore in March 2020.