December 2025 Mutual Fund Report: Equity Slows Down, Gold ETFs Shine

The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has released the monthly data for December 2025. The numbers tell an interesting story of shifting investor behaviour as the year came to a close.

While equity funds continued to receive money, the pace slowed down. On the other hand, Debt funds saw massive withdrawals, and Gold ETFs emerged as a surprise favourite.

Here is a simple breakdown of where the money went in December 2025.

1. Equity Funds: Inflows Dip Slightly

Investors continued to trust the stock market, but they were a bit more cautious compared to the previous month.

• Net Inflow: Equity mutual funds received ₹28,054 crore in December.
• Comparison: This represents a 6% decrease compared to November, when inflows totalled ₹29,911 crore.

Where did the money go?

• The Winner (Flexi Cap Funds): The most popular category was Flexi Cap funds, which received a massive ₹10,019 crore. This shows investors prefer funds that have the freedom to invest in companies of all sizes (Large, Mid, and Small).
• Mid & Small Caps: These categories remained steady. Mid-cap funds got ₹4,175 crore, and Small-cap funds received ₹3,823 crore.
• Sectoral Funds: Interest in specific sectors dropped significantly, falling from ₹1,865 crore in November to just ₹945 crore in December.
• The Losers: ELSS (Tax Saving Funds) and Dividend Yield funds saw more people taking money out than putting it in (negative inflows).

2. Debt Funds: Massive Outflows

The biggest drag on the mutual fund industry this month came from Debt Funds (funds that invest in bonds and fixed-income securities).

• Net Outflow: Debt funds saw a massive withdrawal of ₹1.32 Lakh Crore.
• Why? This is common in December (quarter-end and year-end) when companies withdraw cash from Liquid and Money Market funds to pay taxes or manage their balance sheets.

Because of these heavy withdrawals from Debt funds, the overall mutual fund industry reported a net outflow of ₹66,571 crore for the month.

3. Gold ETFs: The Comeback Star

The standout performer of the month was Gold. As markets remained volatile, investors rushed towards the safety of Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

• Net Inflow: Gold ETFs received ₹11,647 crore.
• The Jump: This is a huge jump compared to November, which saw only ₹3,742 crore.
• Trend: This is the strongest monthly inflow into Gold ETFs in the last five months, showing that investors are hedging their portfolios against risk.

4. Total Assets (AUM) Snapshot

Despite the outflows in debt, the total value of assets managed by mutual funds remains huge.

• Equity AUM: ₹35.73 Lakh Crore.
• Debt AUM: ₹18.10 Lakh Crore.

This data highlights that Equity (Stock Market) funds continue to dominate the Indian mutual fund industry.

Conclusion

December 2025 was a mixed bag. While equity investors took a slight breather, the demand for Flexi-cap funds remained very strong. The most significant trend, however, was the shift towards Gold ETFs, indicating that investors are looking for safety alongside growth as they step into the new year.

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