New Delhi, July 13 -- The share of direct plans has steadily increased over the past five years, but most investors continue to invest through regular plans despite the higher costs.

According to the SBI Funds Management IPO RHP, direct plans accounted for 49.1% of the mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) as of March 2026, up from 45.4% in March 2021. However, regular plans still hold the larger share of the industry's AUM.

The gap is even more pronounced among individual and institutional investors. While direct plans make up 77.7% of institutional investors' mutual fund AUM, the corresponding share for individual investors is just 30%.

Here's what experts have to say on this.

Experts say the difference is not just ab...