Mutual funds raise Rs 14,370 crore via new fund offers in June

 July 13 (IANS) Mutual fund industry witnessed strong inflow via new fund offers (NFOs) in June as 11 NFOs of different fund houses collected Rs 14,370 crore last month. It is the highest-ever inflow in new offerings. The previous high was recorded in July 2021 when four NFOs had raised Rs 13,709 crore. Thirty active equity schemes have been launched by mutual funds in the first half of 2024, compared to 51 in the entire 2023. An investment of Rs 37,885 crore has been made in NFOs from the beginning of this year till June, which was Rs 36,657 crore in the entire last year. A total of 27 NFOs were launched in 2022 and a total investment of Rs 29,586 crore was made in them. The Indian stock market continues to rise after the results of the Lok Sabha elections. Due to an ongoing rally, a large number of mutual fund houses are coming up with NFOs. Currently, around seven active and passive equity NFOs are open for subscription. Active NFOs include ICICI Prudential MF's Energy Opportunities Fund, Franklin Templeton MF's Multicap NFO, and Edelweiss MF's Business Cycle Fund. Most of the NFOs are coming in high-risk categories like thematic. Expressing concern over this, Neil Parekh, CEO and Chairman of Parag Parekh Financial Advisory Services Limited (PPFAS), said on social media, “Wow!, the number of new NFOs, especially thematic funds, has increased. This is quite scary... everyone needs to be careful.” Investment in the mutual fund industry is continuously increasing. In June, inflow figures stood at Rs 40,608 crore. There was an inflow of Rs 34,697 crore in May with NFOs investment of Rs 9,563 crore. In 2024, so far both Sensex and Nifty have given returns of more than 10 per cent to investors. --IANS avs/uk