Domestic fund inflows steady but insufficient to boost Indian equities, says Choice MF exec

Manish Jain, deputy CEO of Choice Mutual Fund, told Abhinav Ranjan that while domestic mutual-fund inflows remain robust, they cannot offset the bearish pressure on Indian equities. September recorded a record SIP book of ₹32,490 crore and equity inflows of ₹38,307 crore, yet the benchmark Nifty slipped roughly 6 percent. Domestic institutions bought about ₹30,313 crore last week, almost cancelling foreign institutional selling of ₹30,294 crore, but foreign investors have sold roughly ₹3 trillion this year, constraining market recovery.

Jain sees more attractive valuation in the Nifty LargeMidcap 250, which trades at a lower multiple than the Nifty Midcap 150, and cites strong 12-month returns for mid- and small-cap funds. He added that the recent 25-basis-point RBI rate hike is modest for corporate earnings, though higher 10-year yields and a weak rupee pressure leveraged mid-size borrowers. Choice aims to reach ₹10,000 crore AUM in FY27, focusing on passive and active products and expanding through B30 cities without opening new branches.