New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS): The total assets under management (AUM) across mutual funds (MF) in India reached Rs 66.98 lakh crore in October, showing a marginal increase of 0.25 per cent against Rs 66.82 lakh crore in September, according to the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Monday.

According to market experts, the month shows that investors have preferred hybrid funds due to the ongoing volatility in the equity markets.

The total inflows in the hybrid mutual fund categories surged 244 per cent to Rs 16,863 crore in October, as compared to Rs 4,901 crore in September.

“We are positive on the Indian economy and India's equity market will deliver a reasonably good return while comparing with other emerging markets,” said Hitesh Thakkar, Acting CEO, ITI Mutual Fund.

Donald Trump's presidency in the US is broadly positive and “we believe that the market is volatile due to short-term factors like weak domestic earning cycle, delayed government spending for capital intensive sectors, etc.”

However, investors should continue investing in equity mutual funds within a 3-5 years’ time horizon, experts suggested.

Meanwhile, the monthly mutual fund SIP crossed the Rs 25,000 crore mark for the first time in October and stood at Rs 25,323 crore against Rs 24,509 crore in September.

Experts said that industry net sales numbers came in strongly aided by NFO listings in the sectoral category and large-cap biased schemes continue to see inflows.

Demand for small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap funds was strong as all three categories saw good inflows during the month.

According to industry experts, the domestic investment story is very encouraging.