Beyond FD, Gold: How Indian Women Are Exploring Newer Investment Opportunities

While gold and property were earlier the safe choices for investments among women in Indian cities, research has shown that they are now exploring and committing to newer options like stocks and mutual funds. A recent report titled Women Investment Behaviour Report 2024 by Axis Mutual Fund studied the money management and investment practices of women across India.   

Indian Women And Money

The nationwide survey studied about 1 crore of their existing customers on their investments, savings, etc. The research also scrutinised a comparison between the investment patterns of women from the top 30 cities (the category was named T30 in the study) in India and the women beyond top 30 (B30). 

While women beyond the top 30 cities of India were sticking to traditional investment choices like fixed deposits and gold, women in the top 30 cities were exploring newer options. “This highlights a nuanced understanding of investment options among women across diverse demographics,” the report states. 

Women constitute 30% of the firm's customer base and hold 35% of the total assets under management. B Gopkumar, the CEO, of Axis AMC said in the report, “The mutual fund industry is undergoing a dynamic shift as more people, particularly women, embrace investing in it as part of their financial strategy."

He added, "Understanding the evolving investor landscape and women’s preferences is crucial for continued growth and our report aims to shed light on this aspect.” Meanwhile, Ashish Gupta, CIO of Axis AMC said, "Women participation in the investor base is rapidly rising with demonstrably high independence and increasing sophistication."

Financial Decision Making

The report found encouraging data where 71.9% of Indian women are taking control of their financial decisions. About 75% of women aged 25-34 and 70% aged 35-44 are taking control of their financial futures by making their own investment choices. 

Long-Term Goals

The report showed that more women investors are embracing reliable, long-term investment opportunities. Compared to men, 25% of higher investments and about 37% of higher corpus on average were made by a female investor. Women showed 22% higher persistence in their mutual fund investments over five years.

Investment Preferences: New Trends

The report shows that women in many T30 cities are embracing newer investment avenues like mutual funds, stocks, and even startups. Moreover, the proportion of Axis' women investors using fintech channels has shot up from 14% five years ago to 55% now. This shows women's growing commitment to the digital landscape and the role of technology in financially empowering women.