After seven continuous months of net inflows, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a pullout of above Rs 61 crore in July as investors turned their money to equity and debt funds that made attractive returns. The number of folios increased to 19.13 lakh in July from 18.32 lakh in the last month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) noted.

Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder, LXME, connected the outflow from gold ETFs to two factors, gold prices at an all-time-high for a while, generating hope among investors for a price fall and investors directing their investments into these instruments for some handsome returns. Equity mutual funds recorded a net investment of Rs 22,583 crore, and debt funds attracted Rs 73,964 crore in the last month.

“The growth in the equity markets and the investor view towards equity led to an increased inflow into the category. As equity funds saw tremendous inflows, gold became foul as investors preferred equity over gold,” Kavitha Krishnan, Senior Analyst Manager Research, Morningstar India, said.