Even after this gain, the Nifty is trading about 12% to 13% below its 52-week high of 26,373.20, according to Kotak Neo figures and our own calculation.
During this period, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) reported that monthly A SIP is a method of investing a fixed amount in a mutual fund scheme at regular intervals, usually monthly, by automatic bank debit. Read the full meaning of SIP contributions climbed to a record Rs 32,490 crore in September, up from Rs 32,297 crore in August. The new record happens even though the index is still well below its all‑time high.
Many individuals asking how to invest in equity in India would normally expect that a market sitting this far from its high will make retail investors wait on the side. The monthly numbers from AMFI show that families are continuing to send their SIP instalments to the mutual funds every month, and the amount is still rising.
This blog post looks at how the money was being invested as of late October 2026.
All the figures used are taken from AMFI releases, exchange data and reports compiled from them, and no individual has been quoted.
Where the market stands going into 2027
In the last year, the Nifty has fluctuated between a low of 22,179.90 and a high of 26,373.20, and now it is positioned near the lower end of that spectrum. According to Kotak Neo data, the India VIX, which indicates the expected market volatility, stood at 15.30 on the last closing.
The Bank Nifty ended at 54,686.95 on the same day. The Nifty had gained roughly 2.0% in the week ending on 30 October 2026, making that week a good one for investors with large company stocks.
While the main index was moving higher that day, the midcap and smallcap indices moved in the opposite direction.
For those families which invest every month through SIPs, such a day does not alter the date on which the instalment is debited from the bank account. Many individuals notice the value of their holdings oscillating week on week, yet the monthly contributions keep coming into the fund just the same.
Market is also split across its segments. The stocks of big corporates and the financials have stayed steadier in the recent week, while the mid cap and small cap names have been a bit softer.
What SIP investors are buying
Equity mutual funds pulled in Rs 38,307 crore of fresh money in September, and AMFI data shows this is the 67th consecutive month where inflows stay positive. The amount is higher by 30.6% than the Rs 29,328.62 crore registered in August.
The SIP inflow for September is about 10.7% higher than the Rs 29,361 crore recorded in September 2025, RightAdvise reports after collating data from AMFI. Thus, the monthly instalments keep increasing year on year even though the market has moved lower.
Number of investors paying these instalments is quite many. 10.06 crore active SIP accounts, as per AMFI Monthly Note. Of the 1,088.90 lakh outstanding SIP accounts, about 1,006.47 lakh were actively contributing during that month.
The category breakdown illustrates the direction of funds. Among the equity categories, investors opted for the following in September, according to AMFI data that The Statesman reported.
- Small‑cap funds topped the inflows with Rs 9,038.57 crore.
- Mid‑cap funds received a total of Rs 7,834.84 crore.
- Flexi-cap funds, which attracted Rs 6,701.80 crore.
The first two positions in the fund flows belong to the small‑cap funds, and these same sections were also weak in the market on 30 October. Investors are putting the biggest money into the funds that contain the stocks that have been lagging, so the inflows and the daily index move are not going the same way.
Passive funds have also attracted a large inflow. The AMFI Monthly Note shows that these funds received Rs 11,887 crore in September, mostly through equity exchange traded funds (An exchange traded fund is a mutual fund scheme with units listed on a stock exchange, built to follow an index or an asset such as gold. Read the full meaning of ETF) and gold ETFs. Therefore, many people are using index based and gold products together with the actively managed equity schemes.
The figures don’t mention how many of the monies have come from first‑time investors and how many from families which were already putting money into investments. Nor do they show whether the investors who opt for small‑cap funds are holding other categories as well. So the numbers simply talk about total inflows, not about each investor’s separate portfolio.
Falling AUM and what the data leaves out
AUM of the mutual fund industry dropped by 5.1% in September, falling to Rs 82.64 lakh crore from Rs 87.08 lakh crore at the end of August, according to AMFI data shared by The Statesman. The SIP segment of these assets was Rs 17.86 lakh crore.
Families are putting in fresh money to the funds even as the value of their existing holdings is going down and the reports compiled from AMFI still do not show any slowdown in the instalments so far.
The view presented here relies purely on mutual‑fund flows. Individual direct stock investments are not included in the AMFI figures, and the numbers do not differentiate between money brought in by newer investors.
The AMFI figures for October 2026 are due in the first half of November, and the November numbers will follow a month later. These releases will show whether the streak of good equity inflows goes on past the 67‑month mark, and whether SIP contributions stay at that record level that we saw in September.
