New Delhi, May 5 -- The retail investors' faith in the domestic equity markets remains unshaken even as the headline returns appear muted over the last two years, as evidenced by the strong inflows in the recent past.

In the latest test for investor appetite in March, when the Middle East crisis and high crude oil prices pushed Nifty 50 to its worst monthly fall in six years, retailers' faith in equity funds remained unfazed, and SIP numbers notched record highs.

AMFI data for March showed that SIP inflows came in at Rs.32,087 crore, the highest ever, underscoring the growing preference for disciplined, long-term equity investing among Indian households. And net flows into equity mutual funds jumped 56% on a month-on-month basis to Rs.4...