India’s portfolio management services industry recorded net inflows of Rs 8,924 crore in September, more than three times August’s Rs 2,528 crore, even as benchmark indices fell sharply and foreign investors sold equities.
The performance came against a broader backdrop of regulatory change. SEBI’s revamped PMS framework, including the Rs 25 lakh Portfolio Managers Route for Investing in Mutual Fund Units and wider investment powers, is expected to broaden the industry’s client base and investable universe. APMI leadership has said the changes could expand the client base from roughly 2 lakh to 10 lakh over the next three to four years.
It was a difficult month for equities as the Sensex declined 5.8%, the Nifty fell 6.1%, and foreign portfolio investors sold roughly Rs 30,400 crore of Indian equities. Yet total PMS assets under management rose 0.1% to a record Rs 44.41 lakh crore, while client accounts expanded 0.9% to about 2.28 lakh.
The September flows were driven largely by a rotation within PMS portfolios rather than fresh risk-taking. Plain-debt allocations rose 0.9%, adding Rs 29,491 crore and extending debt’s dominance to more than 83% of industry assets.
Equity holdings, by contrast, fell 3.2%, or Rs 14,900 crore, while mutual-fund holdings declined 5.6%, or ₹10,958 crore. This was broadly consistent with the mark-to-market impact of the equity correction.