New Delhi, Sep 21 : Investors from smaller cities in India are embracing mutual funds like never before and the share of such investors in cities beyond the top 15 have risen significantly in the last four years, a new report showed on Saturday.

While Mumbai and Delhi continue to hold their place with most number of investors, accounting for 39 per cent investors as of June 2024, other cities have steadily contributed over 30 per cent of investors since March 2021, according to a Franklin Templeton report.

Mumbai and Delhi also contributed over 40 per cent investors till December 2023 but the contribution of these metros slipped to 39 per cent in March this year, the report mentioned.

Also, the assets under management (AUM) of investors in below 30 cities outpaced the top growth in the AUM of the top 30 cities in the country.

The top 30 cities saw AUM growth from Rs 20 lakh crore in December 2018 to Rs 54 lakh crore in August 2024 ' a CAGR of 19 per cent.

On the other hand, the below 30 cities saw a CAGR of 24 per cent, from Rs 4 lakh crore AUM in December 2018 to Rs 12 lakh crore by August 2024.

Telangana accounts for 63.89 per cent of investors in India with the highest average AUM growth. It is followed by Rajasthan with 51.19 per cent growth. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat also make it to the list with more than 40 per cent growth.

New Delhi and Maharashtra saw the least growth over the year with a little over 30 per cent growth in average AUM.

As per latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), the net AUM of the Indian mutual fund industry surged to cross Rs 65 lakh crore mark in August. Equity funds saw Rs 38,239 crore inflows in August, a 3.03 per cent growth from Rs 37,113 crore witnessed in July.

Equity inflows have shown remarkable strength, with the last four months consistently exceeding Rs 34,000 crore.

The systematic investment plans (SIPs) reached fresh highs as monthly contributions via SIPs hit Rs 23,547 crore in August, against Rs 23,332 crore in the previous month.

/IANS