MF Folios Touch 25.6 Crore in October 2025 — A Deep Dive into Category-Wise Retail Momentum
Mutual fund folios in India scaled 25.60 crore in October 2025, adding 40.8 lakh folios in a single month. Passive funds led the surge, followed by debt and hybrid categories, signalling rising retail participation and allocation-driven investing.
What Does The Folio Growth Tell Us?
Folio growth as an indicator lies somewhere between AUM growth and unique PAN growth. The folios do not reflect unique customers. For instance, while there are 25.6 Crore MF folios in India (after the clean-up), there are only 5.5 crore unique PAN numbers mapped to mutual funds. That is because folios are unique to an AMC. Also, the AUM can be skewed by the large sized MF orders, so folios remain a better barometer of retail spread of mutual funds. Here is a sneak peek at how folios growth across MF categories.
How Debt Funds Grew Folios In October 2025
Here is a quick look at how debt fund folios moved between September and October 2025.
| Debt Funds | Folios (Oct-25) | Folios (Sep-25) | Folios Growth (MOM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid Fund | 21,75,269 | 21,31,349 | 2.06% |
| Short Duration Fund | 5,25,052 | 5,17,942 | 1.37% |
| Credit Risk Fund | 1,88,983 | 1,86,961 | 1.08% |
| Medium Duration Fund | 2,34,720 | 2,33,423 | 0.56% |
| Corporate Bond Fund | 5,67,992 | 5,65,827 | 0.38% |
Data Source: AMFI
Momentum of folios growth is visible at the short end of the duration curve like liquid fund and short duration funds. This shows rising demand among retail and HNI investors to park funds in debt-oriented short-term funds. The action is also a reversal of the advance tax payout. MOM folio growth for debt funds segment was at 0.55%; flat over September.
How Equity Funds Grew Folios In October 2025
Here is how the equity fund folios moved between September and October 2025.
| Equity Funds | Folios (Oct-25) | Folios (Sep-25) | Folios Growth (MOM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value Fund/Contra Fund | 87,85,142 | 86,12,986 | 2.00% |
| Multi Cap Fund | 1,07,86,468 | 1,05,82,438 | 1.93% |
| Flexi Cap Fund | 2,02,06,005 | 1,98,38,017 | 1.85% |
| Mid Cap Fund | 2,33,43,247 | 2,30,00,768 | 1.49% |
| Large & Mid Cap Fund | 1,28,53,471 | 1,26,91,674 | 1.27% |
Data Source: AMFI
Value and Contra funds led the folio growth with 2.0% growth MOM. The real folio accretion is happening in the allocation via diversification funds, with focus on categories like multi-cap funds, flexi-cap funds as well as mid-cap funds.
How Hybrid Allocation Funds Grew Folios In October 2025
Here is how the hybrid fund folios moved between September and October 2025.
| Hybrid Funds | Folios (Oct-25) | Folios (Sep-25) | Folios Growth (MOM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi Asset Allocation Fund | 37,04,172 | 35,60,534 | 4.03% |
| Arbitrage Fund | 6,93,596 | 6,81,565 | 1.77% |
| Equity Savings Fund | 5,15,464 | 5,10,097 | 1.05% |
| Aggressive Hybrid Fund | 60,11,535 | 59,64,898 | 0.78% |
| Dynamic Asset Allocation/BAF | 55,09,198 | 54,74,637 | 0.63% |
Data Source: AMFI
Hybrid funds saw above 1% growth in October 2025; largely focused on allocation as a theme. The one exception is arbitrage funds, which is more an alternative to liquid funds. However, the real theme appears to be allocation across asset classes for best risk-adjusted returns. Going ahead this will depend on the upcoming elections and rupee stability.
How Passive Funds Grew Folios In October 2025
Here is a look at how passive fund folios moved between September 2025 and October 2025.
| Passive Funds | Folios (Oct-25) | Folios (Sep-25) | Folios Growth (MOM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOLD ETF | 86,63,662 | 80,33,855 | 7.84% |
| FOFs investing overseas | 14,83,745 | 14,15,559 | 4.82% |
| Other ETFs | 2,17,40,194 | 2,12,52,597 | 2.29% |
| Index Funds | 1,40,89,501 | 1,39,53,213 | 0.98% |
Data Source: AMFI
As a category, passive funds saw a sharp revival with the best folio growth MOM for the third month in a row at 4.78%. Gold funds led the passive folio growth at 7.84%, which is not surprising considering that gold is at an all-time high level, and still rallying. Interestingly, folios of FOFs investing overseas are also catching up, albeit on a small base.
Folio growth in October has been substantially better than in September 2025, adding over 40 lakh folios in the month. The traction has come largely from factors like a revival of interest in passive funds, allocation as a theme, and debt funds recouping outflows.
Want help choosing funds that suit your goals?
Start with Tick FundsDisclaimer: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks; read all scheme-related documents carefully. SERNET is an AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor and receives commission from fund houses.
Was this article helpful?