Gold ETF inflows collapse 78% in one month; investors finally rotating back to equity: Shweta Rajani – News Air Insight

The latest AMFI data threw up a headline number that is hard to ignore: gold ETF inflows plunged from ₹24,000 crore to ₹5,255 crore in a single month — a drop of nearly 78%. For some, it raised questions about whether retail investor confidence was fraying under the weight of geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility. Shweta Rajani, Head of Mutual Funds at Anand Rathi Wealth, sees it very differently.

“Gold and silver received huge inflows in 2025 as investors shifted out of debt — but now it is settling down,” she told ET Now. The sharp price rally in gold attracted momentum-chasing capital, but that thesis is running out of runway. Gold is currently trading nearly 9–10% below its peak, and intraday swings in both gold and silver have proven far more violent than most retail investors anticipated from a so-called safe-haven asset.

The SIP story: Fewer days, not fading confidence

On the dip in monthly SIP collections, Rajani was unequivocal — it is a calendar effect, not a behavioural one. February lost three effective business days compared to a normal month, which mechanically reduces the number of SIP instalments processed. Looking back at January 2025, when SIP numbers stood at around ₹26,400 crore, February had shown a similar ₹400–500 crore drop for the same reason. The underlying pattern is stable.

Crucially, active SIP accounts and live SIP contributions continue to grow. There is no data pointing to a meaningful surge in cancellations or pauses — the real early-warning signals of retail disengagement. If anything, Rajani argues, the behaviour of mid and small-cap allocations through this volatile period shows growing investor sophistication: people are staying the course rather than making reactive switches.

Flexicap funds emerge as the preferred large-cap proxy

One nuanced trend Rajani flagged is a quiet shift in how investors are approaching their large-cap allocation. Flexicap funds — which typically hold 65–75% in large-cap stocks while giving fund managers the flexibility to move across market caps — are increasingly being used as a smarter alternative to pure large-cap funds. The implicit bet: professional managers can navigate volatility better than a rigid index-linked allocation.

The big picture, in Rajani’s reading, is that Indian retail investors are becoming more resilient and more discerning. The current market volatility — far from driving an exodus — appears to be functioning exactly as systematic investing is designed: delivering more units per rupee to disciplined investors who stay invested through the turbulence.