New Delhi, Jan 8 : The latest AMFI Data for December 2023 paints a positive picture of India's mutual fund industry, especially in equities. The significant rise in equity mutual fund inflows to Rs 17,000 crore, up by 9 per cent, shows that investors strongly believe in the potential of the stock market, said Robin Arya, smallcase Manager & Founder, GoalFi. A notable highlight is the steady increase in monthly Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) flows, growing by an impressive almost 24 per cent Year-on-Year. At the same time, SIP Assets under Management (AuM) have jumped by nearly 37 per cent Year-on-Year, Arya said. Viraj Gandhi, CEO, SAMCO Mutual Fund said owing to commendable performances, evidenced by a notable 6 per cent rise in Nifty Small-Cap 250 and an almost 7 per cent rise in Nifty Midcap 150 during the month, Mid and Small Cap funds continued to attract significant net inflows, aggregating to Rs 5,250 crore, a staggering growth of 25 per cent on YoY basis. This constituted nearly one-third of the total net equity-oriented inflow for the month. In parallel, sectoral/ thematic funds emerged as front-runners in garnering the highest net inflows, amounting to Rs 6,005 crore, compared to Rs 1,965 crore in Nov 2023. Overall, we saw Rs 16,997 crore garnered by equity linked schemes for the month of December 2023 , while SIP book for month stands at Rs 17,610 crore, Gandhi said. /IANS