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23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Olympic Speed Climbing Champion Sam Watson to Visit Mumbai

Mumbai: When Sam Watson sprints up a 15-metre wall, the world seems to slow down. The 19-year-old American speed climber, an Olympic medallist from Paris 2024 and current world-record holder at 4.64 seconds, has become the face of one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. On November 2, he will trade competition arenas for Mumbai’s High Rock in Powai, offering a rare day of workshops and conversations with India’s burgeoning community of climbers. Speed climbing, once a fringe pursuit of...

Olympic Speed Climbing Champion Sam Watson to Visit Mumbai

Mumbai: When Sam Watson sprints up a 15-metre wall, the world seems to slow down. The 19-year-old American speed climber, an Olympic medallist from Paris 2024 and current world-record holder at 4.64 seconds, has become the face of one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. On November 2, he will trade competition arenas for Mumbai’s High Rock in Powai, offering a rare day of workshops and conversations with India’s burgeoning community of climbers. Speed climbing, once a fringe pursuit of mountaineers, now stands as one of the Olympics’ most electrifying disciplines. The sport demands not just power and agility but precision measured in hundredths of a second. Watson, often hailed as the greatest speed climber of all time, has repeatedly rewritten the record books. His visit marks a milestone for India’s fledgling climbing scene. High Rock, the city’s first commercial climbing facility, opened its walls in December 2024 and has since drawn more than 10,000 enthusiasts. It represents the country’s growing fascination with vertical sports and a reflection of a global shift toward adventure and athleticism fused with technology and training science. During his visit, Sam Watson will conduct Masterclasses for both Kids and Adults, offering a rare opportunity for amateur climbers to learn directly from a global champion and experience his unmatched energy and technique up close. Watson will be joined by Matt Groom, the Official Lead Commentator for the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). Known as the voice of IFSC World Cups and World Championships, Groom will host a 30-minute talk at High Rock on ‘The Evolution of Climbing in Competitive Sport.’ His insights promise to provide a deep look into the transformation of climbing from niche adventure to Olympic spectacle. Event: Sam Watson, Olympic Medalist and current World Record holder at High Rock Date: November 2, 2025 Location: High Rock, Powai, Mumbai

Equity MFs inflow drops 26 pc to Rs 29,303 cr in Feb; SIP hit 3-month low

  • PTI
  • Mar 12
  • 3 min read

Updated: Mar 13


SIP hit 3-month low

New Delhi: Inflow in equity mutual funds dropped 26 per cent to Rs 29,303 crore in February, primarily due to a significant decline in investments in small and midcap schemes, amid continued market volatility.

This was the second consecutive month of decline in inflow in equity funds. The latest fund infusion by investors also marks the 47th consecutive month of net inflows into the segment.

Moreover, inflows into systematic investment plans (SIP) came at Rs 25,999 crore in February, making it three months low. Before this, SIP inflow was Rs 26,400 crore in January and Rs 26,459 crore in December.

"The SIP inflows have come down, but the drop is not significant, partly due to February being a shorter month as compared to January," Suranjana Borthakur, Head of Distribution & Strategic Alliances at Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), said.

According to data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Wednesday, equity-oriented mutual funds saw an inflow of Rs 29,303 crore in February, way lower than Rs 39,688 crore registered in January and Rs 41,156 crore in December.

However, the pace of investments moderated compared to the previous month due to increased market uncertainty and a broader correction in equities.

"While short-term headwinds have tempered investment flows, domestic investor confidence remains strong, as indicated by continued inflows. Investors are adopting a cautious yet steady approach, reassessing their portfolios while maintaining long-term investment commitments," Nehal Meshram, Senior Analyst - Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said.

Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, Motilal Oswal AMC, said that continuous monthly market correction has led to a slowdown of sales in February, this could also be partially attributed to a truncated month. Investors are being cautious in allocations and may postpone or stagger in the near future. Having said so, net sales of Rs 30,000 crore are also pretty healthy and the broader sentiment looks optimistic from a long-term wealth creation perspective.

Also, the sharp decline was attributed to reduced inflows in mid and small-cap funds, which saw a drop to Rs 3,406 crore and Rs 3,722 crore in February, compared to Rs 5,147 crore and Rs 5,720 crore in January, respectively. In large-cap funds, inflows totalled Rs 2,866 crore, down from Rs 3,063 crore in January.

Within the equity categories, sectoral/thematic funds witnessed the highest net inflow of Rs 5,711 crore, followed by Flexi Cap Funds with Rs 5,104 crore.

Apart from equities, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw an inflow of Rs 1,980 crore against Rs 3,751 crore in January.

However, debt mutual funds registered an outflow of Rs 6,525 crore last month in February, a sharp reversal from the strong inflows of Rs 1.28 lakh crore in the preceding month.

Despite the outflows, liquid funds saw the inflow at Rs 4,977 crore, followed by corporate bond funds (Rs 1,065 crore) and short-duration funds (Rs 473 crore). However, several short-term debt categories witnessed heavy redemptions, with ultra-short duration funds (Rs 4,281 crore), money market funds (Rs 276 crore), low-duration funds, and overnight funds (Rs 2,264 crore) seeing the highest outflows. Together, these four categories accounted for 90 per cent of total redemptions, Meshram said.

Of the 16 debt categories, 10 recorded net outflows, indicating that the bulk of redemptions were concentrated in short-duration funds.

Overall, mutual funds attracted over Rs 40,000 crore in the month under review compared to a staggering inflow of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in January suggesting a cautious approach from investors in the mutual funds space.

This slump in inflow has pulled the overall assets under management of mutual funds down 4 per cent to Rs 64.53 lakh crore in February-end compared to Rs 67.25 lakh crore in the preceding month.

This comes in the backdrop of global uncertainties and macroeconomic factors, which led to a slump in benchmark index Sensex by 5.5 per cent in the month.

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