3 weeks ago
Mutual fund schemes with negative returns nearly triple in FY26
A mutual fund is like a big basket where many people put their money together, and experts invest it in companies and other things.
A watchdog called SEBI, which looks after investing in India, checks how these funds are doing.
In the financial year 2026, the number of funds that lost money nearly tripled compared to the year before.
More than 700 funds ended the year with losses, while only about 200 funds made more than 10 percent.
SEBI says this happened because markets were shaky and returns were low.
Even with these losses, more people started investing in mutual funds.
The total money managed by funds grew to almost ₹74 lakh crore.
The number of investors went up to 6.1 crore, and many people kept putting in small amounts every month through SIPs.
So while funds had a tough year, Indians still trusted mutual funds with their savings.
The number of mutual fund schemes with negative annual returns nearly tripled to 731 in FY26 from 243 in FY25.
Schemes delivering returns above 10% fell to 198 from 304 a year earlier, while those above 5% declined to 737 from 1,156.
The largest increase came in schemes with returns between -5% and 0%, which rose to 492 from 172.
Despite weaker returns, industry assets under management rose 12.2% to ₹73.7 lakh crore at end-March 2026.
Unique mutual fund investors rose 13.2% to 6.1 crore, and average monthly net SIP contributions grew 25.8% to ₹16,413 crore.
- Who
- Mutual fund investors in India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which released the annual report data
- What
- The number of mutual fund schemes with negative annual returns nearly tripled to 731 in FY26 from 243 in FY25
- Where
- India
- When
- Financial year 2025-26; the report was published on August 9, 2026
- Why
- SEBI attributed the weaker return distribution to a more subdued return environment and market volatility
Key facts
- Regulator
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
- Schemes with negative returns
- 731 in FY26 vs 243 in FY25
- Schemes with returns over 10%
- 198 in FY26 vs 304 in FY25
- Assets under management
- ₹73.7 lakh crore at end-March 2026, up 12.2%
- Unique investors
- 6.1 crore, up 13.2% from 5.4 crore
- Average monthly net SIP contribution
- ₹16,413 crore, up 25.8%
- Total net inflows
- ₹7.4 lakh crore, down 9.7% from FY25
- New schemes launched
- 246 in FY26 vs 247 in FY25
Quotes
SEBI Annual Report
Source document summarizing fund performance
“"The count of schemes generating returns exceeding 10 per cent declined from 304 to 198, highlighting a more subdued return environment driven by market volatility."”
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“"The distribution of mutual fund schemes reflected subdued market performance during 2025-26."”
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Sources
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