SIP Flows in April 2026 still robust at ₹31,115 Crore

SIP Flows in April 2026 still robust at ₹31,115 Crore

MONTHLY SIP FLOW RATIO FALLS IN APR-26

After crossing the ₹32,000 crore mark for gross SIP flows in March 2026, the flows tapered to ₹31,115 crore in April. This was largely due to the late February numbers getting clubbed into March. Due to the sharp fall in the gross SIP flows in April, the SIP Flow / SIP AUM ratio has also sobered to 1.85%, since buoyant markets took the SIP AUM higher in April 2026. The SIP Flow to AUM ratio appears to have stabilized in the region of 1.80%, with March being an exception, due to the sharp fall in the SIP AUM in a falling market. Here is a quick 13-month view.

Data Source: AMFI

The SIP AUM at ₹16.85 Trillion saw a sharp bounce of +11.5% over March due to the recovery in the market indices. A similar trend was also visible in the overall AUM of Indian mutual funds; with the overall AUM recouping the February 2026 levels in April.

FOLIO ACCRETION STORY OF APRIL 2026

SIP data over two months can be seen either in terms of change in the SIP folios or in terms of SIP AUM. Let us look at both perspectives. Total SIP folios contracted from 1,044.84 Lakh folios in March 2026 to 1,044.26 Lakh folios in April 2026. That is MOM folio contraction of -0.01%. Let us also talk about how SIP AUM moved. Between March 2026 and April 2026, SIP AUM bounced from ₹15,10,943 Crore to ₹16,85,126 Crore. The sharply higher SIP AUM can be attributed to the sharp bounce in the broad-based market indices. While geopolitical risks are still a major factor, markets were betting in April on an imminent end to the war.

SIP STOPPAGE – ABOVE 100% FOR SECOND MONTH IN A ROW

One of the critical ratios in understanding stickiness of SIP clients is the SIP Stoppage Ratio (Ratio of Discontinued SIPs to New SIPs). Here is a quick snapshot.

Data Source: AMFI

Between FY25 and FY26, the SIP stoppage ratio has gone up sharply from 75.63% to 94.51%. This may have been partially skewed due to the surge in SIP stoppage ratio in April due to the SIP clean-up taken up by SEBI. However, even otherwise, the SIP Stoppage ratio averaged 77.38% for the remaining 11 months. That is well above the exceptional surge we had seen in the SIP stoppage ratio during the pandemic period.

What is more disconcerting is that the SIP stoppage ratio for March and April 2026 has stayed above 101%. That means; more SIPs were stopped than started during the month; which explains the fall in the SIP folios for April 2026. There is clearly a gap in the way investors appear to be treating their SIPs. In the past, the average SIP stoppage ratio used to be around 40% to 42% in normal times. That is the average that the SIP Stoppage Ratio must revert to.

PRODUCTIVE SIP RATIO TAPERS IN APRIL 2026

The Contributing SIP ratio is the ratio of SIP folios that contribute flows to the overall SIP folios. That ratio touched its lowest level in the last one year in the month of February 2026. After a bounce seen in March, the ratio has again tapered in April 2026.

Data Source: AMFI

The Productive SIP ratio depicts the ratio of SIP folios that are actually giving business on a consistent basis out of the total outstanding SIP folios. It is what you call the meaningful SIP folios. This ratio had fallen from over 96% to just over 90% in February. However, in March 2026, the Productive SIP ratio was above 93%, although it again tapered in April 2026. It is largely on account of the SIP clean-up exercise last year that the Productive SIP ratio has stabilized above the 90% mark.

The moral of the story from the SIP data for April 2026 is that the SIP flows continue to be robust at a gross level. That is not the full story! There is a worrying trend of SIP folios being closed at a very rapid rate. It either means that the SIP demand has saturated, or that SIP needs a brand-new narrative. Either way, it is a wake-up call for the distributors and to SIP originating mutual fund AMCs. This trend needs to be reversed!