Mutual Funds as the Darling Amid Uncertainty at the Start of 2026
KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The year 2026 has entered its second quarter. A year initially anticipated to be positive for the capital markets has instead fallen short. The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) year-to-date (YTD) as of 23 April 2026 has dropped 15%, due to geopolitical factors and concerns over Indonesia’s fiscal situation.
However, there is an attractive investment instrument. One of them is money market mutual funds. This year, the average YTD performance is 1.3%. This outperforms fixed-income mutual funds, which should have benefited from the trend of declining interest rates, but instead recorded a negative 0.3%. Mixed mutual funds fell 2%, and equity mutual funds posted a minus 5.3%.
Amid uncertainty, the public needs safe and liquid investments. Money market mutual funds have become the darling because they offer ease of transactions, performance equivalent to deposits, and liquidity equivalent to savings.
Which money market mutual funds have performed well? Those with jumbo managed funds or those that are moderate?
These mutual funds are only allowed to invest in debt securities with maturities of less than one year. Such as Bank Indonesia Certificates or Rupiah Bank Indonesia Certificates (SBI/SRBI), deposits, and short-term bonds. This type of mutual fund is relatively the safest. On average in 2026, the performance of money market mutual funds exceeds that of deposits.
The money market mutual fund industry itself is growing. As of the end of March 2026, there are 206 money market mutual funds with managed funds of Rp135 trillion.
Over the past year, the managed funds of money market mutual funds grew 60%. The second highest after fixed-income mutual funds. Several other types of mutual funds have even declined.
Currently, the number of mutual fund investors has reached 23 million people. Millennials and Gen Z are purchasing money market mutual funds through banking apps, online mutual fund selling agents, marketplaces, and digital wallets.
In managing funds, investment managers use two main strategies: focusing on liquidity and heavily investing in deposits. Or focusing on performance by buying short-term bonds that offer higher returns, albeit with additional risk. Especially corporate bonds that have the potential for default.
The management of money market mutual funds combines these two strategies to achieve performance above deposits while maintaining liquidity. Is it better to enter money market mutual funds with managed funds above Rp1 trillion or below?
Based on research over one year (23 April 2025 – 23 April 2026) for mutual funds with average managed funds above Rp10 billion, there are 138 money market mutual funds. Then, separating them into 4 quartiles based on AUM.
In that period, the Money Market Mutual Fund Index recorded a performance of 4.4%. Almost all quartiles performed above the index, except for the quartile with managed funds below Rp100 billion. From the table, it can be seen that the larger the managed funds, the slightly lower the performance.
The larger the funds, the more prudent investment managers must be in considering liquidity risk and choosing more liquid instruments.
From the units of participation, all quartiles show positive growth. The highest in the Rp100 billion–Rp500 billion quartile. Possibly, the high returns attract investor interest. The largest quartile above Rp1 trillion also recorded high growth. Indicating that investors still enter even though the performance is not the highest.
If these results are used as a reference for more optimal performance, investors can choose money market mutual funds with managed funds of Rp100 billion–Rp500 billion. Although actually, the performance of other quartiles is not much different.
Considering that the main focus of money market mutual funds is not the highest return, but security and liquidity, investors are more advised to focus on mutual funds that provide ease of transactions.
Continuing the 2026 year shrouded in uncertainty, there is no harm in investors diversifying into safe and liquid instruments while waiting for the capital markets to regain vigour. The above conclusions may differ if the observation period is changed.
In making investment decisions for money market mutual funds, investors should still consider other factors besides managed funds and historical returns. Such as risk profile, goals, investment period, as well as ease and comfort of transactions.