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Mutual funds" asset base rose by 7.6 per cent to 29.71 lakh crore in the quarter ended December, mainly on account of the rally in equity markets. The average asset under management (AAUM) of the industry, comprising 45 players, was at Rs 27.6 lakh crore in July-September quarter, according to data by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

The AAUM of December quarter is higher compared to the preceding quarter due to surge in equity markets. The surge in asset base comes on the back of excellent stock market performances over the last 3 months, with Nifty 50 rising by 3.15 per cent in October, 12.02 per cent in November and 14.9 per cent in December, Gopal Kavalireddi, Head of Research at FYERS said.

"The increase is quarterly asset base is majorly due to mark to market gains in equity-oriented mutual funds. Markets being at an all-time high has resulted in this, although there have been net outflows in this quarter," said Omkeshwar Singh, Head RankMF at Samco Securities. Of the 42 operational AMCs, the top four AMCs-- SBI MF, HDFC MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Aditya Birla Sunlife MF -- continue to dominate and account for 50 per cent of total assets of the mutual fund industry. These top four fund houses witnessed an increase in their respective average AUMs during the September quarter.

With an asset base of Rs 4.56 lakh crore, SBI Mutual Fund continues to be the largest fund house in the country during the December quarter 2020. It had an average AUM of Rs 4.21 lakh crore in the preceding quarter. This indicates a growth of 8.3 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. HDFC MF, which is at the second position, saw its asset base rising to Rs 3.89 lakh crore during the period under review from Rs 3.75 lakh crore in the September quarter. This is followed by ICICI Prudential MF at the third position with an average AUM of Rs 3.8 lakh crore in the three months ended December, compared to Rs 3.6 lakh crore in the previous quarter. Aditya Birla Sunlife MF, the fourth largest fund house, has seen its average AUM growing to Rs 2.55 lakh crore from Rs 2.39 lakh crore. The asset base of Kotak Mahindra MF soared Rs 13 per cent to Rs 2.16 lakh crore at the end of the December quarter, as against Rs 1.91 lakh crore in the three months ended September 30. Nippon India MF"s average AUM rose to Rs 2.13 lakh crore in the December quarter from Rs 2 lakh crore in the preceding quarter. Among the other large AMCs by size, AAUM of Axis MF climbed 13.6 per cent to Rs 1.77 lakh crore, while that of DSP MF grew 8.8 per cent to Rs 89,487 crore. During the September quarter, the industry"s AAUM went up by 12 per cent due to appreciation in the value of their existing holding in equity-oriented funds.