Passive-fund folios in India surpass active equity accounts for first time

In September, India’s passive mutual-fund schemes (index funds/ETFs including fund-of-funds) added about 2.1 million folios, topped by take-up in gold and silver ETFs; active equity funds recorded about 1.4 million new folios in the same month. The surge in commodity-linked passive products reversed a long-standing dominance of active equity funds in folio growth and signals a shift in investor behaviour toward lower-cost, diversified exposures.