Debt funds lead Oct-25 MF inflows; as AUM nears ₹80 Trillion

13 Nov 2025 , 11:09 AM

REVIVAL IN DEBT FUND FLOWS TAKES AUM TO NEW HIGHS

After outflows in September, the month of October 2025 saw a revival in debt fund flows. Overall, MF inflows for October 2025 stood at ₹2,15,657 Crore; led by net debt fund inflows of ₹1,59,958 Crore. Flows into active equity funds fell sharply to ₹24,690 Crore in October as flows were subdued across categories, except flexi-cap funds. Passive funds continued to see robust inflows in October 2025 (albeit lower) at ₹16,668 Crore. Not surprisingly, the passive fund flows continue to be led by gold and silver ETFs.

Within active equity funds, flows were strongest in flexi-cap funds; with ELSS funds and Dividend Yield fund seeing net outflows. The accent is more on allocation and less on alpha. Despite the correction in gold and silver in global spot markets, the prices in India have not fallen much due to the dollar effect. The NFO flows in October 2025 were relatively robust at ₹6,062 Crore, led by thematic funds, flexi-cap funds, and liquid funds. Gross SIP flows grew marginally, but set a new record at ₹29,529 crore in October 2025.

DEBT FUND INFLOWS SET OCTOBER NARRATIVE

Here is a quick look at monthly flows across fund categories in last 13 months.

Month	Debt Fund Flows (₹ Crore)	Equity Fund Flows (₹ Crore)	Hybrid Fund Flows (₹ Crore)	Passive Fund Flows (₹ Crore)	Total MF Flows (₹ Crore)
Oct-24	1,57,402	41,887	17,189	23,428	2,39,907
Nov-24	12,916	35,944	4,443	7,061	60,295
Dec-24	(1,27,153)	41,156	4,703	784	(80,355)
Jan-25	1,28,653	39,688	9,011	10,255	1,87,551
Feb-25	(6,526)	29,303	7,050	10,249	40,063
Mar-25	(2,02,663)	25,082	(705)	14,149	(1,64,435)
Apr-25	2,19,136	24,269	14,248	20,229	2,76,827
May-25	(15,909)	19,013	20,942	5,526	29,108
Jun-25	(1,711)	23,587	23,429	3,997	49,095
Jul-25	1,06,801	42,702	21,162	8,259	1,78,794
Aug-25	(7,980)	33,430	15,614	11,437	52,443
Sep-25	(1,01,977)	30,422	9,683	19,057	(43,146)
Oct-25	1,59,958	24,690	14,417	16,668	2,15,657

Data Source: AMFI (negative figures in brackets)

October 2025 saw positive inflows into all categories of open-ended funds. The total net inflows at ₹2,15,657 Crore represented the best show since April 2025. Passive fund flows were still dominated by gold ETFs and silver ETFs. There was a strong element of MTM gains across equity funds, hybrid funds, and passive funds due to robust equity indices. The overall inflow of ₹2.16 Trillion into Indian mutual funds in October 2025, helped net AUM get very close to the ₹80 Trillion mark.

HOW THE ₹79.88 TRILLION NET AUM ADDED UP

Here is the AUM break-up as of October 2025; across equity, debt, and alternates.

Month	Debt AUM (₹ Trillion)	Equity AUM (₹ Trillion)	Alternate AUM (₹ Trillion)	Total AUM (₹ Trillion)
Oct-24	16.64	29.89	20.46	67.26
Nov-24	16.86	30.36	20.60	68.08
Dec-24	15.67	30.58	20.41	66.93
Jan-25	17.06	29.47	20.46	67.25
Feb-25	17.08	27.40	19.79	64.53
Mar-25	15.21	29.45	20.82	65.74
Apr-25	17.57	30.58	21.59	70.00
May-25	17.54	32.05	22.34	72.20
Jun-25	17.58	33.47	23.10	74.41
Jul-25	18.76	33.28	23.07	75.36
Aug-25	18.71	33.09	23.13	75.19
Sep-25	17.80	33.68	23.88	75.61
Oct-25	19.51	35.17	24.94	79.88

Data Source AMFI

For October 2025, active debt fund AUM was 17.2% higher yoy at ₹19.51 Trillion. The AUM of active equity funds touched an all-time-highs of ₹35.17 Trillion in October 2025, as MTM gains magnified growth, despite tepid inflows. Equity fund AUM is 17.7% higher yoy. Alternate AUM is also up 21.9% yoy due to strong flows and capital appreciation. Here are the AUM shares across specific categories, over last 6 months.

Month	Active Debt Funds	Active Equity Funds	Hybrid Funds	Passive Funds	Solution Funds	Close-ended Funds
May-25	24.30%	44.40%	13.23%	16.96%	0.76%	0.36%
Jun-25	23.63%	44.98%	13.33%	16.96%	0.75%	0.35%
Jul-25	24.89%	44.16%	13.31%	16.56%	0.74%	0.34%
Aug-25	24.89%	44.00%	13.41%	16.63%	0.73%	0.34%
Sep-25	23.54%	44.55%	13.66%	17.18%	0.74%	0.34%
Oct-25	24.43%	44.03%	13.39%	17.11%	0.72%	0.32%

If you take a 5-month perspective, active debt funds, hybrid funds, and passive funds have gained AUM share, while active equity funds, solution funds, and close-ended funds lost AUM share. The fall in market share of active equity funds is more of a broad realignment as debt fund flows have turned robust in recent months and alternate categories like hybrid funds and passive funds are starting to play a more significant role.

ACTIVE DEBT FUNDS: NEW QUARTER RINGS INFLOWS

Just as selling in debt funds is normal at the end of each quarter, bulk of these flows also return next month. Debt funds saw net outflows of ₹1,59,958 Crore in October 2025. Liquid funds dominated debt fund inflows at ₹89,375 Crore; followed by Overnight Funds ₹24,051 Crore, Money Market Funds ₹17,916 Crore, Ultra short Duration Funds ₹15,067 Crore, and Corporate Bond Funds at ₹5,122 Crore. There were no significant outflows in October 2025. The money that moved out in September for advance tax payouts showed signs of coming back into the short end of the curve.

ACTIVE EQUITY FUNDS: ALLOCATION YES, ALPHA CAUTIOUS

In October 2025, equity funds saw lower flows MOM at ₹24,690 Crore; with all categories other than Dividend Yield Funds and ELSS seeing positive inflows. Active equity fund flows are down -42.2% in last 3 months. Big drivers of inflows into equity funds were Flexi-Cap Funds ₹8,929 Crore, Mid-Cap Funds ₹3,807 Crore, Small Cap Funds ₹3,476 Crore, Large & Mid-Cap Funds ₹3,177 Crore, and Multi-Cap Funds ₹2,500 Crore. The focus continues to be on allocation, although investors are getting sceptical about alpha at higher levels. The positive outcome is that the obsession for sector / thematic funds has sharply reduced.

HYBRID FLOWS PICK UP; PASSIVE FLOWS TAPER

Hybrid fund net inflows were sharply higher at ₹14,417 Crore in October 2025. Hybrid net inflows were dominated by Arbitrage Funds ₹6,920 Crore, Multi-asset Allocation Funds at ₹5,344 Crore, and Balanced Hybrid Funds at ₹1,139 Crore. Other inflows were not too significant. Arbitrage funds saw a revival in line with liquid fund inflows.

In the passive category; inflows were dominated by Gold ETFs at ₹7,743 Crore followed by Silver ETFs at ₹3,412 Crore, Index ETFs at ₹2,572 Crore, and index funds at ₹2,472 Crore. Passive fund flows were again dominated by flows into gold and silver ETFs.

October 2025 flows had 3 underlying narratives. Firstly, the revival of debt funds flows shows greater confidence in debt as an asset class. Secondly, the passive scene is still dominated by precious metals ETFs. Thirdly, equity flows are tilting more towards allocation and less towards alpha. That may a rational approach as markets scale new highs!