Flexicap funds, commodity ETFs emerge as new investor favourites

Investor interest appears to be shifting in the mutual fund (MF) space, with smallcap, midcap and sectoral funds witnessing a decline in their share in new investment account openings and net inflows in recent months. In contrast, commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and flexicap schemes have catapulted to the top of the popularity charts, buoyed up by strong performances. The aggregate new account or folio additions in the three highest-risk equity scheme categories — midcap, smallcap and sectoral & thematic — have decelerated for three consecutive months. The reverse has happened in the case of ETFs and flexicap funds, the aggregate net account additions have grown in each of the past six months. In addition, they have added more accounts in seven of the last nine months compared to the three equity categories. In the case of ETFs, the bulk of the account additions has happened in Gold and Silver ETFs.