India’s mutual fund industry assets under management (AUM) rose to Rs 82.03 lakh crore in February 2026, registering a 27.1 per cent increase from Rs 64.53 lakh crore a year earlier, according to data released by Franklin Templeton report.The growth was driven largely by sustained inflows into equity-oriented schemes and continued expansion in systematic investment plan (SIP) participation. Equity fund AUM climbed 29.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 35.44 lakh crore, while hybrid fund assets rose 30 per cent to Rs 11.71 lakh crore. Fixed income fund AUM increased 13.5 per cent to Rs 19.65 lakh crore during the same period.Passive investment products continued to gain traction, with passive fund AUM rising 41.3 per cent to Rs 15.24 lakh crore. Their share in total industry assets increased to 19 per cent from 17 per cent a year ago. Within passive funds, domestic equity passive AUM grew 30.2 per cent to Rs 9.78 lakh crore, while commodity-linked products such as gold and silver funds saw sharp expansion. Gold fund AUM surged to Rs 1.83 lakh crore from Rs 0.56 lakh crore, while silver fund AUM increased more than six-fold to Rs 0.92 lakh crore, the report noted.Industry participation metrics also showed steady improvement. Unique investor accounts rose to 6.09 crore in February, reflecting an addition of about 70 lakh investors over the past 12 months. Monthly SIP gross inflows stood at Rs 29,845 crore, up 15 per cent year-on-year, while total SIP AUM climbed 34 per cent to Rs 16.64 lakh crore. SIP assets accounted for about 28.5 per cent of total equity AUM during the month.The total number of SIP accounts increased to 10.45 crore, with 65.72 lakh new accounts registered during February. Aggregate SIP inflows over the last 12 months amounted to Rs 3.43 lakh crore, marking a 21 per cent rise compared with the previous year, the data showed.Individual investors continued to dominate industry participation, accounting for around 60 per cent of total AUM, while institutional investors held the remaining 40 per cent share. Direct plans contributed 49 per cent to total industry assets, up from 47 per cent a year ago.The mutual fund industry has added more than Rs 17.5 lakh crore to its asset base over the past year. Over the last five years, industry AUM has expanded at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 21 per cent, significantly higher than the 11 per cent CAGR recorded in bank deposit growth over the same period.Mutual fund assets were equivalent to about 33 per cent of total bank deposits in February 2026, compared with 29 per cent a year earlier. The number of asset management companies operating in the country also increased to 50 from 43 in the previous year, indicating broader industry expansion.
