BENGALURU: Women are now increasingly making their presence felt in the mutual fund industry as their share in industry assets has expanded from 15% in March 2017 to nearly 21% as of December 2023.
According to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) data, curated by CRISIL, the share of women folios and assets in B-30 (locations beyond top 30) cities has increased from 15% to 18% and from 17% to 28% during the period.
SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said, “Women can lead and champion the right investment causes by leveraging their perspectives, advocating for inclusive decision-making processes, and fostering environments where diverse voices are heard and valued.”
She added that together, women can champion a paradigm shift where they are not confined by outdated stereotypes, but empowered to thrive authentically in every aspect of their lives. When it comes to investing, most of the women stick to traditional instruments. As per the CRISIL DBS report, women parked a higher share of their money in bank fixed deposits and savings bank accounts at 51% versus 46% for households in India.
Their investments in capital market instruments such as mutual funds were also higher at 15% versus 8.4% for households. The report said self-employed women had higher exposure to MFs (17%) and lower investments in bank deposits (49%) versus salaried women who had 13% and 57% exposure, respectively. Goa boasts of the highest share of women in the MF industry at 40%, followed by states from the northeast, all in the high 30s. Chandigarh, Maharashtra and New Delhi also have over 30% share of women in the industry’s assets under management.
The report shows women investors are parking their funds in regular SIPs, at 17% in both B30 and T30 (top 30) cities, for over five years as against 3-5% for direct plans in these regions respectively. About 50% of women investors fall in the 25-44 years age group as gainst about 45% for the overall set of individual investors.
The number of women MF distributors has jumped, nearing the 42,000-registration mark as of December 2023, managing over Rs 1lakh crore in AUM. Most women continue to invest through the regular plan route in mutual funds and stay invested for longer periods.