The number of SIF folios rose to 94,447 as of July 31, taking the investor base closer to the one-lakh mark. The average folio size stood at ₹24.5 lakh, up from ₹23.8 lakh in June.
Hybrid investment strategies continued to account for the bulk of SIF assets, with AUM of ₹16,524 crore, or 71% of the total. Within this segment, Hybrid Long-Short Funds remained the largest strategy. Their AUM rose 29% month-on-month to ₹15,374 crore from ₹11,910 crore in June, accounting for 66% of total SIF assets.
The average folio size for Hybrid Long-Short Funds stood at ₹36.9 lakh in July, compared with ₹34.1 lakh for hybrid strategies overall.
Equity-oriented investment strategies recorded a 32% increase in AUM to ₹6,654 crore from ₹5,036 crore in June. The segment accounted for 29% of total SIF AUM, with an average folio size of ₹14.4 lakh, compared with ₹14.1 lakh a month earlier.
SIFs recorded total inflows of ₹4,922 crore in July, up 30% from ₹3,782 crore in June. Since October 2024, cumulative SIF inflows have reached ₹22,328 crore, the report said.
Hybrid Long-Short Funds attracted ₹3,258 crore in July, a 59% increase from ₹2,043 crore in June. Their cumulative inflows since October 2024 stood at ₹14,827 crore, or 66% of total SIF inflows.
Equity-oriented strategies received ₹1,454 crore in July, up 33% from ₹1,097 crore in June. Their cumulative inflows since October 2024 stood at ₹6,392 crore.Manuj Jain, Co-founder of ValueMetrics Technologies, said market volatility over the past two quarters had created a favourable environment for long-short and other market-neutral strategies used by several SIFs.
He also pointed to the launch of new SIF offerings by asset management companies and greater investor awareness as factors supporting the category.
Jain added that a recovery in equity markets could reduce the relative appeal of long-short strategies, but demand for SIFs could remain as investors look for alternatives to traditional long-only products.
The broader mutual fund industry also saw continued investor participation in July. Total mutual fund AUM rose to ₹85.8 lakh crore, while net inflows into active equity and hybrid funds stood at around ₹30,000 crore, according to the report.
Gold ETFs recorded net inflows of ₹1,559 crore in July, down 55% from ₹3,443 crore in June. SIP contributions stood at ₹31,961 crore in July, while SIP AUM rose 2.8% month-on-month to ₹18.20 lakh crore. Outstanding SIP accounts increased to 10.63 crore during the month.
