Inflows into equity mutual funds fell 22 per cent to ₹33,430 crore in August from ₹42,702 crore in July, as fewer new fund offers (NFOs) and tariff-related uncertainties fuelled market volatility, prompting investors to remain cautious.

Despite the decline, this marked the 54th consecutive month of positive inflows into equities, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Wednesday.

SIP inflows eased slightly to ₹28,265 crore from ₹28,464 crore in July.

“The lower impact of new flows of roughly ₹9,000 crore is to the extent of NFOs, which were higher in July than August. Rest the flow momentum is steady and healthy,” Akhil Chaturvedi, chief business officer of Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company, said.

Among categories, flexi-cap funds led with a record ₹7,679 crore, while mid-cap and small-cap funds attracted ₹5,331 crore and ₹4,993 crore, respectively. Sectoral/thematic funds saw a sharp dip to ₹3,893 crore from ₹9,246 crore in July.

Meanwhile, hybrid schemes recorded lower inflows of ₹15,294 crore, while gold ETFs gained traction with ₹2,190 crore. Debt schemes, however, witnessed outflows of ₹7,980 crore after heavy inflows in July, largely due to rising yields.

“Lower flows in debt were due to significant volatility, with yields rising sharply last month,” said Anand Vardarajan, chief business officer, Tata Asset Management.

Overall, the mutual fund industry registered total inflows of ₹52,443 crore in August, sharply lower than ₹1.8 lakh crore in July.

A total of 23 schemes were launched in August 2025, raising a total of ₹2,859 crore, Venkat N. Chalasani, chief executive, AMFI, said.