India’s portfolio management services (PMS) industry witnessed a sharp rebound in investor flows in April, following the market correction and volatility seen in March, with net inflows turning positive at ₹25,088 crore, compared with a net outflow of ₹648 crore in the previous month.
Data from the Association of Portfolio Managers in India’s (APMI) latest monthly compendium showed total inflows into PMS strategies rose 27 per cent month-on-month to ₹46,030 crore in April, while outflows declined 43 per cent to ₹20,942 crore.
The PMS industry’s assets under management rose 2.1 per cent month-on-month to ₹42.29 lakh crore in April, even as the total client base declined 1.7 per cent to about 2.12 lakh accounts.
Equity market rally boosts PMS assets
The improvement in PMS flows coincided with a broad-based recovery in Indian equities in April. The benchmark Sensex rose 6.9 per cent during the month, while the Nifty 50 gained 7.5 per cent. The rally was sharper in the broader market, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advancing 13.8 per cent and 19.6 per cent, respectively.
Overall equity AUM expanded 13.8 per cent month-on-month in April. Within this, listed equity assets rose 13.6 per cent, while unlisted equity assets surged 38.8 per cent, as investor appetite for private-market opportunities grew.
Unlisted plain debt assets also jumped 150.5 per cent from March levels, as allocations towards specialised and diversified strategies increased beyond traditional listed equity exposure.
Investor appetite shifts toward diversified strategies
“This month’s data points to a deeper transition underway within India’s wealth landscape,” said Vikas Khemani, Board Member at APMI. “Capital is no longer moving only towards traditional equity exposure, but increasingly towards specialised and diversified strategies across listed and unlisted markets,” he said.
Discretionary PMS continued to dominate the industry, accounting for 84.9 per cent of total AUM and over 95 per cent of the client base. Discretionary inflows alone stood at ₹33,540 crore in April, up 52 per cent month-on-month.
Domestic investors continue to dominate PMS assets
Participation from foreign investors within PMS portfolios also increased despite volatility in public markets. Foreign AUM rose 7.8 per cent month-on-month in April, led by a 12 per cent increase in non-resident assets and a 7.4 per cent rise in FPI assets.
Domestic investors, however, continued to dominate the industry, accounting for 95 per cent of total PMS assets, with PF/EPFO assets alone contributing nearly ₹31.8 lakh crore, or around 80 per cent of domestic AUM.