₹75.61 lakh crore was mutual fund industry AUM in September despite net outflows persisting across multiple categories. The interesting anomaly emerged in Gold ETFs that recorded inflows worth ₹8,363 crore, reflecting hedging appetite during currency uncertainty and global policy premium volatility. Strategists said this divergence indicates retail capital is not exiting risk completely but is rebalancing to defensive commodity hedges instead of equity wholesale exit. For fund managers, the broad stability in overall MF stack even during liquidity churn signals deeper domestic retail conviction consistency compared to past high-vol driven phases.