Axis Mutual Fund

₹31 LAKH CRORE ➔ ₹74 LAKH CRORE. BUT THAT IS NOT THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN INDIAN MUTUAL FUNDS. As per the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbooks from 24, 25 and 26 The most interesting story isn't the growth in AUM. Yes, ₹31.43 lakh crore ➔ ₹73.73 lakh crore in five years (an 18.6% CAGR vs bank deposits at 11.2%) is extraordinary. But AUM is only the visible surface. What has really changed is investor behavior. 7 structural shifts redefining the industry: 1. India is financialising its savings: MF share in gross annual household savings surged from 3% in 2020 to 13% in 2025. MF penetration reached 21.3% of GDP. 2. Investing is becoming a habit: Monthly SIP contribution reached ₹32,087 crore in March 2026. Cumulative gross SIP inflows over FY17–FY26 hit ₹14.79 lakh crore, with ~76% coming in the last five years. Investing is moving from an event to a process. 3. Investors are staying longer: SIP AUM held for >5 years rose from 11.2% in 2021 to 31.0% in March 2026, while assets held for <1 year fell from 42.1% to 21.1%. We are accumulating durable capital. 4. The investor base is broadening: Unique MF investors increased to 6.14 crore (+77.7 lakh in FY26 alone). Participation is widening across women, HNIs, B30 cities, younger and older cohorts. 5. What investors own is changing: Equity share moved from 31.2% ➔ 43.4% and Passive from 9.8% ➔ 18.6%. Combined, they represent 62% of industry AUM (up from 41%). 6. The industry itself is diversifying: Top-10 AMC concentration fell from 81.7% to 76.3% across 51 AMCs, welcoming digital and specialized entrants. 7. New growth engines: SIF AUM jumped from ₹2,010 crore to ₹10,620 crore in six months, establishing a new product bridge for sophisticated investors. So what actually changed? If I had to summarise the Factbook journey in one line Savings (to)➔ Systematic investing ➔ Long-term investing ➔ Portfolio allocation ➔ Financialisation of household wealth. India's MF penetration sits at ~21% of GDP vs the ~74% global average. While not a simple mathematical certainty, it proves the journey is just beginning. Headroom remains across millions of households, underpenetrated states, women investors, and emerging products like SIFs. From getting Indians into mutual funds to next phase is about getting Indians to stay invested, diversify, and build meaningful wealth. Thank you to Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) and Crisil for compiling such a data-rich series. I started this exercise looking for Industry numbers. I came out with a very different conclusion: Over the years the most important asset being built by the Indian mutual fund industry may not be AUM but It will be investor behaviour. And that will prove far more valuable over the next decade. [Part 8 of 8: AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Factbook Series Conclusion] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #AssetManagement #IndianMarkets #SIP #WealthCreation #Financialisation #InvestmentManagement #MutualFundIndustry #India #LongTermInvesting #WealthManagement

INDIA'S AMC INDUSTRY IS ABOUT TO GET MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE. ₹73.73 lakh crore of AUM. 51 AMCs. And a new generation of competitors waiting to enter. One thing stood out to me while going through the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbook 2026: The Indian mutual fund industry more than doubled its AUM from ₹31.43 lakh crore (March 2021) to ₹73.73 lakh crore (March 2026). Normally, rapid industry growth leads to concentration around the largest players. But the data shows the opposite: • Top 10 AMC share fell from 81.7% to 76.3% (Dec 2021 to Dec 2025). • Top 5 AMCs remained broadly stable at around ~56.2%. The Next 5 are the ones who have taken this HIT. The industry is expanding fast enough to create room for new, differentiated players. A new wave of AMCs is coming: The industry grew from 42 AMCs in March 2020 to 51 by late 2025. Approvals for players like Ashika and InCred Money, alongside Nuvama commencing operations, show that entrants are bringing diverse models: digital-first platforms, private wealth ecosystems, institutional capabilities, and specialized alpha strategies. And then SEBI introduced SIF: Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) create a regulated space between traditional mutual funds and higher-ticket PMS/AIFs. Introduced in February 2025, adoption has been remarkably fast: • SIF AUM jumped from ₹2,010 crore (Oct 2025) to ₹10,620 crore (March 2026)—over 5x in six months and already crossed ₹20K Cr Mark. • Strategies already include Hybrid Long-Short, Equity Long-Short, Ex-Top 100 Long-Short, and Active Asset Allocator. SIFs give AMCs a new way to compete for sophisticated capital. The competitive equation has changed: The old formula: Scale + Distribution + Fund Management + Brand. The new formula: Digital Capability + Passive + Specialised Strategies + HNI Solutions + Products. With Passive AUM reaching ₹13.73 lakh crore (18.6% of industry AUM), AMCs are no longer competing only on active equity; they are battling across active, passive, hybrid, and specialized strategies. Takeaway: India's AMC industry is not heading toward a simple winner-takes-all model: • Large AMCs win on scale and distribution • Mid-sized AMCs win on differentiation • New AMCs attack specialized niches or digital models • SIFs open a new battlefield for sophisticated investors The ultimate beneficiary is the investor, who benefits from better products, innovation, technology, lower costs, and enhanced experience. [Part 7 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #AssetManagement #AMC #SIF #SpecialisedInvestmentFunds #PassiveInvesting #WealthManagement #IndianMarkets #InvestmentManagement #MutualFundIndustry #India

SIP WAS ONCE A WAY TO INVEST. I THINK IT IS BECOMING A WAY OF LIFE. There is a subtle difference, and the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbook 2026 makes it visible. We all know the headline: ₹32,087 crore of monthly SIP contributions. But look at where SIP sits inside investors' portfolios. SIP AUM as a % of Total AUM (FY21 to FY26): • Retail Investors: 33.5% ➔ 45.0% • HNIs: 15.0% ➔ 20.9% • NRIs: 20.8% ➔ 26.7% • Banks & Institutions: <2% (Flat) • Corporates: <2% (Flat) This highlights something fundamental: SIP has become a human behavior. It works because an individual decides to invest a fixed amount every month regardless of market noise. That is very different from an institutional treasury deploying surplus capital. And this behavior is spreading upward. HNIs are increasingly using SIPs—their share rising from 15.0% to 20.9% in five years. SIP is no longer just "the ₹5,000-a-month retail investment." It has become part of the portfolio architecture of wealthier investors as well. Combine this with holding discipline: • SIP AUM held for >5 years: 12.3% ➔ 31.0% (March 2021 to March 2026) • SIP assets held for <1 year fell from 37.0% ➔ 21.1% Till few years ago, each and every CIO urged investors to not to stop or redeem their SIPs, seems it worked to an extent. Three things are happening simultaneously: More people are using SIPs ➔ SIP is becoming a larger part of portfolios ➔ Investors are staying with it longer. That is no longer just a product trend; that is structural behavioral change. This disciplined habit is reshaping what Indian investors own: Between March 2021 and March 2026: • Equity schemes: 31.2% ➔ 43.4% of industry AUM • Passive funds: 9.8% ➔ 18.6% of industry AUM • Together: 41.0% ➔ 62.0% of industry AUM The Factbook links this shift directly to sustained retail participation, SIP flows, and lengthening horizons. SIP is converting monthly income into equity and passive ownership. Takeaway? Days are gone when SIP was looked only as an investment product. It is becoming financial infrastructure for households. Once the behavior becomes habitual, market timing becomes secondary to market participation. The real SIP story isn't ₹32,000+ crore a month—it is that millions of investors are cementing a wealth-creation habit. And habits are far harder to reverse than market trends. [Part 6 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #SIP #AssetManagement #Investing #WealthCreation #IndianMarkets #PersonalFinance #Financialisation #LongTermInvesting #India

THE B30 STORY IS MUCH BIGGER THAN B30. Whenever we talk about the next leg of growth for India's mutual fund industry, one phrase comes up repeatedly: B30 cities. Going through the AMFI–CRISIL Factbook 2026 reveals something broader: the geographical financialisation of India. A number that surprised me: As of March 2026, individual investors (HNIs, retail, NRIs) accounted for >50% of MF AUM in every state and Union Territory except Delhi and Maharashtra. • In 32 states & UTs ➔ Individuals contribute >70% of MF AUM • In 13 states ➔ Individuals contribute >90% Delhi and Maharashtra are exceptions precisely because of their huge concentration of corporate treasuries, banks, and institutions. Away from financial hubs, household money is the absolute backbone of the industry. How deep is this penetration? Looking at Individual MF AUM as a % of State GDP: • Delhi: 38.3% • Chandigarh: 32.9% • Maharashtra & Goa: >20% • Most states: still in the 5%–10% range • Large economies like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala remain below 10%. State GDP size does not automatically yield mutual fund penetration. Income levels, financial awareness, investment culture, and local distribution infrastructure dictate adoption. This highlights huge underpenetrated markets ahead. The distribution network is aggressively moving to bridge the gap: Between March 2021 and March 2026: • B30 MFDs grew 61% (+61,018 distributors) vs T30 MFDs growing 25% (+36,239 distributors). • Total individual ARN holders expanded ~80%, from 1.03 lakh to 1.88 lakh (total ARNs reached 1.99 lakh). Yet white spaces remain: 10 states have fewer than 1 distributor per 10,000 people, and another 10 have only 1–2 distributors per 10,000 population. The infrastructure to take mutual funds deeper is being built alongside expanding investor awareness. Takeaway? The next phase of Indian mutual fund growth is not just "T30 vs B30." It is: Financial centres ➔ Households Large cities ➔ Smaller cities Institutional money ➔ Individual money Physical savings ➔ Market-linked financial assets The biggest opportunity lies in states where income is rising, awareness is improving, distribution is underpenetrated, and household savings are yet to fully financialise. [Part 5 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #AssetManagement #B30 #Financialisation #IndianMarkets #WealthManagement #Investing #FinancialInclusion #MutualFundIndustry #India #SIP

PASSIVE INVESTING IN INDIA IS CHANGING. AND THE MOST INTERESTING PART ISN'T THE AUM. Every year we hear the same story: Passive investing is growing. The AMFI–CRISIL Factbook 2026 confirms that: • Passive AUM reached ₹13.73 lakh crore as of March 2026. • Its share of total industry AUM almost doubled: 9.8% in March 2021 ➔ 18.6% in March 2026. • Passive AUM grew at a 34.7% CAGR over these five years. Impressive numbers. But the more interesting question is: Who is buying passive, and through which instruments? In March 2026, Corporates still account for 69.6% of passive AUM. So passive remains largely institutional. But look at HNIs: their share jumped from 6.6% to 19.9% in just five years—a massive composition shift. Product choices within passive are transforming: 1. Corporates are gradually diversifying: Other ETFs accounted for 77.3% of corporate passive AUM in FY26 (down from 94.1% in FY21), while index funds rose from 2.2% to 12.3%. Even institutions are moving towards index funds for core allocations. 2. Retail has undergone a complete shift: Index funds were only 11.5% of retail passive AUM in FY21. By FY26: 55.0%. Other ETFs fell from 83.8% to 30.1%, while gold ETFs increased from 4.6% to 14.9%. That is a structural change in product preference. 3. HNIs have made Index Funds their primary vehicle: Index funds became the dominant passive product among HNIs, rising from 33.2% in 2020 to 55.1% in 2025/2026. The pattern is clear: • Institutional investors ➔ Passive ETFs • HNIs ➔ Passive Index Funds • Retail investors ➔ Passive Index Funds Almost 60% (59.0%) of passive AUM is routed through Direct plans. Since passive products are low-cost, rules-based, and simple to understand, direct access makes intuitive sense or can we say these are non lucrative products for Distributor ?? What does this mean for the industry? As passive investing becomes mainstream, the economics of asset management change. When investors prioritize low cost, rules-based strategies, and direct access, scale becomes everything. The competitive moat shifts from pure fund manager alpha toward: Scale + Distribution Reach + Technology + Tracking Efficiency + Brand Trust. In the US, passive funds account for >50% (54.7%) of fund assets. India is at 18.6%. The gap is huge, and the direction is clear. Takeaway: The passive story in India is moving from Institutional ➔ HNI ➔ Retail adoption, and simultaneously from ETFs ➔ Index funds. Passive investing won't remain a niche category; it is becoming a foundational building block for Indian portfolios. [Part 4 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #PassiveInvesting #IndexFunds #ETF #AssetManagement #SIP #IndianMarkets #WealthManagement #Investing #FinancialServices #India

₹73 LAKH CRORE IS IMPRESSIVE. BUT HOW OLD IS THAT ₹73 LAKH CRORE? One thing I have started looking at differently after going through the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbooks 2024, 2025 and 2026 is the age of the AUM. We spend a lot of time talking about AUM growth, SIP growth, and investor growth. But perhaps there is another number that deserves equal attention: How long are investors actually staying invested? The trend here is quite striking: • In March 2020, only 6.3% of total mutual fund industry AUM had been invested for >5 years. • By March 2025, that had risen to 17% (and ~17.9% in 2026). • At the same time, assets held for <1 year fell from 49.3% to 34.4%. That is not just AUM getting bigger; it is the composition and durability of AUM changing. And the change becomes even more interesting when looking specifically at SIPs: SIP AUM held for >5 years: • 11.2% in 2020 ➔ 30.2% in 2025 ➔ 31.0% in 2026 While SIP assets held for <1 year fell: • 42.1% (2020) ➔ 21.9% (2025) ➔ 21.1% (2026) For me, this is one of the most important numbers in the entire Factbook. There is a big difference between ₹1 lakh crore of hot money that can exit next month and ₹1 lakh crore of durable capital that investors hold for years. The latter gives AMCs a very different base to build a business around and makes the industry less dependent on market timing. Does the Regular vs Direct matter? As of March 2026: Industry AUM held >5 years: • Regular: 23.5% | Direct: 14.0% For SIP AUM: • Regular: 34.4% | Direct: 19.9% Now, this does not prove distributors cause investors to stay longer. There could be multiple reasons. But the pattern is consistent across Factbooks. The conclusion isn't "Regular is better than Direct." Rather: The channel through which money enters may influence how investors behave through volatility. Distributors are surely playing some role here ... Furthermore, SIPs are becoming a much larger part of portfolios: (FY21 to FY26) • Retail: 33.5% ➔ 45.0% of total AUM • HNIs: 15.0% ➔ 20.9% • NRIs: 20.8% ➔ 26.7% Takeaway: The next phase of India's mutual fund story would be measured not only by AUM growth, but by AUM longevity. Eventually, the industry's competitive advantage may not be its ability to attract money—it may be its ability to retain investors through multiple market cycles. And Indian investors are learning to stay. [Part 3 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #AssetManagement #SIP #Investing #WealthManagement #IndianMarkets #LongTermInvesting #FinancialServices #Financialisation #India

THE ₹500 SIP AND THE ₹10,000 SIP TELL TWO VERY DIFFERENT STORIES ABOUT WOMEN INVESTORS. One section of the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbook 2026 made me stop and look at the numbers twice: the analysis of women investors by SIP ticket size. We often talk about the growing participation of women in mutual funds. And the growth is meaningful: Today, women represent around 26.4% of the MF investor base (~1.61 crore women investors). But, their contribution to individual investor AUM is much higher: 34.5%. So women represent roughly one-fourth of the investor base, but account for more than one-third of individual investor AUM. That itself is interesting. But the real story starts when you look at SIP ticket sizes. Look at this progression: • SIP below ₹500 ➔ 60% Direct | 40% Regular • ₹500–₹1,000 ➔ 38% Direct | 62% Regular • ₹1,000–5,000 ➔ 36% Direct | 64% Regular • ₹5,000–₹10,000 ➔ 38% Direct | 62% Regular • Above ₹10,000 ➔ 23% Direct | 77% Regular As the commitment gets larger, preference shifts strongly towards the regular/distributor-led route. At the exact same time, look at equity allocation: • Below ₹500 SIP ➔ 62.7% equity • ₹500–₹1,000 ➔ 85.8% equity • ₹1,000–5,000 ➔ 87.2% equity • ₹5,000–₹10,000 ➔ 84.3% equity • Above ₹10,000 ➔ 88.2% equity So two things happen as commitment increases: Higher SIP ➔ More equity Higher SIP ➔ Greater use of the Regular Plan I find that much more interesting than simply saying "women are investing more in mutual funds." It reveals the evolution of investor behavior. Someone beginning with ₹500 may be exploring. vs. Someone committing ₹10,000+ every month is making a meaningful allocation decision—and at that level, the data shows high equity conviction backed by the distributor route. Women investors' SIP AUM has grown nearly 4x: from ₹1.26 lakh crore in March 2021 to ₹4.73 lakh crore in March 2026. SIPs now represent 29.8% of women's total MF AUM, almost double the 15.2% seen in 2021. There is also a geographical dimension: women account for 34.5% of individual AUM nationally, but it varies significantly across states—from 16% to 40%. That shows substantial room for this story to develop. Takeaway? The next phase of women's participation may not simply come from adding more investors. It will come from existing women investors moving deeper into the journey: Starting a SIP ➔ Increasing the SIP ➔ Building equity exposure ➔ Building long-term wealth. The real opportunity is helping more women become confident, long-term investors. [Part 2 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #WomenInvestors #SIP #WomenAndWealth #AssetManagement #Investing #WealthManagement #FinancialServices #IndianMarkets #Financialisation #India

₹73 LAKH CRORE WAS THE HEADLINE. THE REAL STORY WAS THE DISTRIBUTION SHIFT. I went looking for AUM. I found something far more interesting about investor behavior. I spent some time going through the AMFI–CRISIL Mutual Fund Factbook 2026. First, a genuine thank you to the teams at AMFI and CRISIL. The Factbook is much more than a collection of industry statistics. The sheer amount of detail—especially the cross-tabs around investor behaviour—makes it possible to ask questions that the headline numbers don't answer. The headline numbers are undeniably impressive: • ₹73.73 lakh crore — Industry AUM • 6+ crore — Investors • ₹32,000+ crore — Monthly SIP contribution • ₹29.3 lakh crore — Equity AUM But after going through the details, I think the more interesting story is not how big the industry has become. It is how people are participating in it. And one particular finding made me stop. Are distributors really losing the mutual fund battle? At first glance, it certainly looks that way. Direct plans have grown substantially and today account for 45.1% of industry AUM. Direct investing is becoming mainstream: between March 2021 and March 2026, the retail share within direct-plan AUM increased from 35.5% to 42.9%, while the HNI share declined from 60.3% to 52.3%. So yes, investors are becoming comfortable investing directly. But then I came across another table. Look at SIPs by ticket size: • ₹1,000–5,000 SIPs ➔ 77% Regular • ₹5,000–10,000 SIPs ➔ 72% Regular • Above ₹10,000 SIPs ➔ 78% Regular In other words, as the commitment gets larger, the distributor channel remains remarkably strong. And there is another layer to this: The Holding tenure. As of March 2026: Industry AUM held >5 years: • Regular: 23.5% | Direct: 14.0% For SIP AUM: • Regular: 34.4% | Direct: 19.9% Now, I am not saying this proves distributors cause investors to stay longer. But the correlation is interesting enough to make me pause. It makes the usual "Direct vs Regular" debate look far too simplistic. Maybe the future is tiered: • Digital for discovery • Direct for self-directed investors • Advice for larger and more complex decisions • Distribution for helping investors stay invested Across the industry, the share of SIP AUM invested for >5 years has risen from 12.3% in March 2021 to 31.0% in March 2026. At the same time, money held for <1 year fell from 37.0% to 21.1%. Perhaps the biggest achievement isn't reaching ₹73.73 lakh crore, but that an increasing proportion of money is being invested systematically and staying invested longer. The Indian mutual fund story is no longer just about gross inflows. It is about who is investing, how they enter, who guides them, what they invest in—and how long they stay. [Part 1 of 8: The AMFI–CRISIL 2026 Deep Dive] #MutualFunds #AMFI #CRISIL #AssetManagement #SIP #IndianMarkets #WealthManagement #InvestmentManagement #FinancialServices #Investing #India #Financialisation

A ₹10,000+ lesson in why buying offline still makes sense over Online Buying. I recently bought a premium 3-channel Dashcam from Dylect India online. Marketed like a great product. Promoted for great features and great specifications, marketed all over shopping portals... Then came the part that no product page tells you about. A Shock !! Few of the key functionalities saving battery and parking-mode recording — requires an additional Hardwire Kit which has to be purchased separately. The Dashcam was available. but.... The Hardwire Kit? Out of stock. and... It has been unavailable for weeks. and as per the customer care it will still not be available for many more weeks. That's when I started thinking about the difference between buying a product and buying a complete solution. Walk into a traditional shop and ask for a Dashcam. The salesperson shows you 8–10 options. You choose one. You pay. And you walk out with a complete setup with the required accessories, ready to use. Compare that with my online experience: Main product → Available ✅ Essential accessory → Separate purchase ❌ Accessory availability → Unknown/Out of stock ❌ Full functionality of the product → Can't use it ❌ And that's probably one of the reasons people hesitate to buy certain categories of products online. Because online shopping gives you a box. A good offline retailer often gives you a solution. I'm now stuck with a self claimed premium Dashcam by Dylect India that I bought online, waiting for an essential accessory so I can actually use the product to its full intended functionality. So here's my learning — and perhaps something worth considering before our next purchase: Don't just compare the price of the product. Compare the complete customer experience. Would you prefer : Buying online and potentially get stuck with the ecosystem? OR Walk into a store, see your options, ask questions, and walk out with a complete solution? After this experience, I know what I'd choose for such products. What would you? And Dylect India and Mr. Manish Singhai — I'm genuinely hoping you improve your customer experience by making such essesntial Hardwire Kit available for your existing customers along with the product. Some focus needs to be shifted on this as well, rather than only doing big marketing campaigns. #CustomerExperience #OnlineShopping #OfflineShopping #ConsumerExperience #Dashcam #CustomerFirst #BuyingExperience