State-run UTI Mutual fund has toppled private sector ICICI [Get Quote] Prudential to be the country's second biggest fund house, while Anil Ambani Group's Reliance [Get Quote] MF has retained its top position.

According to latest data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India, total asset under management (AUM) with 31 mutual funds stood at Rs 5,18,123 crore (Rs 5,181.23 billion) at the end of December, 2007.

There are 32 fund houses in the country but December data for Birla Sun Life Mutual fund was not available.

A month ago, the total AUM of the mutual fund industry stood at Rs 5,37,812 crore (Rs 5,378.12 billion).

The country's top five fund houses -- Reliance MF, UTI MF, ICICI Prudential, HDFC MF and Franklin Templeton recorded an increase in their assets under management.

Reliance MF's AUM rose to Rs 80,780 crore (Rs 807.80 billion) from Rs 77,765 crore (Rs 777.65 billion) a month ago, while that of UTI and ICICI Pru rose from Rs 52,180 crore (Rs 521.80 billion) to Rs 56,854 crore (Rs 568.54 billion) and from Rs 54,904 crore (Rs 549.04 billion) to Rs 56,772 crore (Rs 567.72 billion), respectively. These figures exclude AUMs for Fund of Funds.

HDFC MF's AUM rose from Rs 46,752 crore (Rs 467.52 billion) to Rs 48,561 crore (Rs 485.61 billion), while that of Franklin Templeton surged from Rs 30,773 crore (Rs 307.73 billion) to Rs 31,175 crore (Rs 311.75 billion).

BOB, DSP Merrill Lynch, Escorts, Fidelity, JM Financial [Get Quote], JP Morgan, LIC [Get Quote], Lotus India, Morgan Stanley, Quantum, Sahara, SBI [Get Quote], Sundaram BNP Paribas, Tata and Taurus mutual funds also saw a rise in their AUMs.

However, assets under managements of ABN Amro, AIG Global Investment Group, Benchmark, Canara Robeco, DBS Chola, Deutsche, HSBC, ING, Kotak Mahindra, Principal and Standard Chartered Mutual funds declined during the month.