For a long time, mutual fund investing in India looked like a big-city habit. Most of the money, most of the distributors, and most of the marketing were concentrated in a handful of metros. That picture has been changing steadily for years, and the data from 2026 shows just how far that shift has come, even as the pace of change has slowed a little this year.
This piece looks at what the numbers actually say about mutual fund growth beyond India’s largest cities, known in industry data as B30, and what that shift means whether you live in a metro or not.
Mutual Fund Investment: What B30 Actually Means
AMFI classifies Indian cities into two broad buckets for reporting purposes. T30 refers to the top 30 cities by mutual fund AUM, essentially India’s largest metros and major urban centres. B30 refers to everything beyond that: the smaller cities, towns, and semi-urban and rural areas that make up the vast majority of the country geographically and by population.
This classification matters because it lets AMFI, AMCs, and regulators track how deeply mutual funds have actually penetrated beyond a small number of large cities, rather than just looking at the industry’s aggregate growth.
The Headline Numbers: B30 vs T30 Growth
The clearest way to see this shift is to compare growth rates directly over the past couple of years.
| Period | B30 Individual AUM Growth | T30 Individual AUM Growth |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2024-25 | +27% | +21% |
| Calendar year 2025 | +25.7% | +15.9% |
| H1 2026 | +5.2% | +4.5% |
B30 individual investor assets grew 25.7 percent in 2025, well ahead of the 15.9 percent growth in T30 markets. That lead has narrowed considerably in the first half of 2026, to 5.2 percent versus 4.5 percent, largely due to a period of market volatility that affected retail investors broadly. Even with the narrower gap, B30 has still grown faster than T30 in every recent period measured.
Growth rates matter, but the more telling number is how B30’s actual share of total industry assets has moved over time.
| Metric | Earlier Period | Recent Period |
|---|---|---|
| B30 share of individual MF AUM | 25.2% (2022) | 27.7% (mid-2026) |
| B30 share of total industry AUM | 16% (Dec 2020) | 18% (Jan 2026) |
| B30 AUM CAGR vs T30 AUM CAGR | N/A | ~24% vs ~20% (multi-year) |
B30’s share of individual mutual fund AUM has climbed steadily, from 25.2 percent in 2022 to 27.7 percent by mid-2026. Looking at total AUM including institutional money tells a similar story, with B30’s overall share rising from 16 percent at the end of 2020 to 18 percent by January 2026. Over a longer horizon, B30 total AUM has grown at roughly a 24 percent compound annual rate, compared to about 20 percent for T30, according to industry analysis.
Folios and SIP Accounts Tell an Even Bigger Story
Asset value is only part of the picture. Looking at how many accounts and SIPs are coming from smaller towns shows the shift is even more advanced at the participation level than at the money level.
More than half of all new investor folios added to the industry now come from B30 cities. Roughly 54 percent of all live SIP accounts in the industry are held by investors in B30 locations. Earlier in 2026, B30 investors surpassed their metro counterparts in individual folio share for the first time.
| Metric | T30 Cities | B30 Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Average retail ticket size | ~₹2.73 lakh | ~₹1.05 lakh |
| Share of live SIP accounts | ~46% | ~54% |
The gap between B30’s share of accounts and its share of assets is explained largely by average investment size. The average retail ticket size in B30 cities runs meaningfully lower than in T30 cities, which means B30 is contributing a large and growing number of investors and SIPs, even though each account tends to be smaller.
Why the Growth Gap Narrowed in 2026
The B30 growth story in 2026 has not been entirely smooth, and it is worth being honest about where it slowed rather than only highlighting the positive trend.
Market volatility earlier in the year created real friction for B30’s newer, often self-directed investor base. Data from the first four months of 2026 showed a reduction of more than 350,000 direct-plan SIP accounts in B30 cities, as some newer investors paused contributions during the correction. This is consistent with a pattern seen elsewhere in the data: investors with less market experience, which tends to describe a larger share of B30’s newer entrants, appear more sensitive to short-term corrections than the industry’s more seasoned investor base.
This does not undo the broader multi-year trend, but it is a useful reminder that B30 growth, while structurally strong, is not immune to the same market cycles that affect the rest of the industry.
Who Is Winning the B30 Race
B30 assets are not evenly spread across fund houses. A small group of large AMCs continues to dominate B30 asset totals, while some smaller and newer AMCs are growing their B30 presence unusually fast off a smaller base.
| Fund House | B30 Average AUM (June 2026) |
|---|---|
| SBI Mutual Fund | ₹2.95 lakh crore |
| HDFC Mutual Fund | ₹1.84 lakh crore |
| ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund | ₹1.75 lakh crore |
| Nippon India Mutual Fund | ₹1.56 lakh crore |
| UTI Mutual Fund | ₹76,104 crore |
Among smaller fund houses, several posted B30 AUM growth well above 20 percent in a single quarter through mid-2026, showing that newer entrants are actively competing for B30 business rather than leaving it entirely to the largest, most established players.
What Is Actually Driving This Shift
A few structural factors sit behind B30’s sustained outperformance, beyond any single quarter’s numbers.
Digital onboarding has removed much of the distance that once separated a smaller-town investor from a fund house’s largest branches. Remote KYC, mobile apps, and digital SIP registration mean an investor in a tier-3 town can open an account and start investing without ever visiting a physical office. A steadily expanding distributor network has extended personal guidance into markets that previously had little to no local advisory presence. And a decade of investor awareness campaigns from AMFI and individual AMCs has gradually built familiarity with mutual funds as a savings option beyond the traditional bank deposit or gold purchase.
The Access Gap That Remains
Despite the growth, the numbers also show how much room is still left to cover. India has only around 2 lakh registered mutual fund distributors for a population of roughly 147 crore, working out to about one distributor for every 7,350 people. Total unique mutual fund investors across the entire country stand at roughly 6.2 crore, a small fraction of the population, with B30’s share of that base still growing from a much lower starting point than T30.
This combination, strong recent growth alongside a genuinely low base, is exactly what most industry participants point to when describing B30 as a long-term opportunity rather than a trend that has already played out.
What This Means for You as an Investor
If you live in a B30 city or town, this data is a useful signal that you are increasingly part of the mainstream of India’s mutual fund industry, not a late or unusual entrant into it. Access to funds, distributors, and digital tools has genuinely expanded in your favour over the past several years.
| If You Are Investing From… | What the Data Suggests |
|---|---|
| A B30 town or smaller city | You’re part of a fast-growing majority, not a minority; more than half of new folios and SIP accounts now come from B30. |
| A T30 metro | Growth in your segment has been steady, though the industry’s fastest expansion is increasingly happening outside your city. |
| Either, and new to mutual funds | Digital onboarding and a wider distributor network mean starting a SIP is easier today than it was even a few years ago, regardless of location. |
Regardless of where you live, the more useful takeaway is that the growth of mutual fund investing beyond big cities reflects genuine structural change, not a temporary trend tied to one bull market. Whether you are already invested or considering your first SIP, that structural shift is a reasonable basis for confidence in the industry’s direction, even though it says nothing about which specific fund or strategy is right for you.
This is exactly where local, personalised guidance matters, especially if you are investing from a smaller town where formal financial advice has historically been harder to access. A VSJ FinMart advisor can help you build a plan suited to your goals, regardless of whether you are investing from a metro or a town that AMFI would classify as B30.
Frequently Asked Questions on B30 Mutual Fund Growth
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does B30 mean in mutual fund data? | B30 refers to Indian cities and towns beyond the top 30 by mutual fund AUM, essentially everywhere outside the country’s largest metros and major urban centres. |
| Is B30 mutual fund AUM growing faster than T30? | Yes, consistently over the past several years, though the growth gap narrowed sharply in the first half of 2026 due to market volatility affecting both segments. |
| What share of mutual fund folios now come from B30 cities? | More than half of all new investor folios added to the industry currently come from B30 locations, and B30 has also overtaken T30 in overall individual folio share. |
| Why did B30 growth slow down in 2026? | Market volatility earlier in the year led to a reduction of over 350,000 direct-plan SIP accounts in B30 cities, as some newer, less experienced investors paused contributions during the correction. |
| Is mutual fund investing still concentrated mainly in big cities? | Less than before. B30’s share of total industry AUM has risen from 16% to 18% since 2020, and its share of individual AUM has climbed from about 25% to nearly 28% over the same period. |
Final Words
Mutual fund growth beyond India’s big cities is no longer a minor footnote to the industry’s story; it is one of its central storylines. B30 assets have grown faster than T30 assets for years, B30 now contributes more than half of all new folios and a majority of live SIP accounts, and its share of total industry assets keeps climbing steadily, even through a year that tested newer investors with real market volatility.
For anyone investing from outside India’s largest cities, the message in this data is clear: you are no longer investing at the margins of the industry. You are a growing part of where its future growth is expected to come from. A conversation with a VSJ FinMart advisor is a good next step to make sure your own investments are built around your goals, wherever in India you happen to be investing from.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Shashikant Chanderkumar Mudaliar (ARN: 319377), operating under the brand name VSJ FinMart, is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (MFD) and does not provide investment advisory services. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. Registration details can be verified at www.amfiindia.com/locate-distributor.