Women investors deploy bigger sums in mutual funds than men: Report

Account for 24% of investors but 33% of AUM

Women investors account for a third of individual investor assets with mutual funds (MFs) even as their share among unique investors is only 24 per cent, according to a report by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) and Crisil.

 

“The participation rate based on AUM (assets under management) is higher than the unique investor-based participation rate, indicating that women investors tend to invest larger amounts than men,” the report said.

 

Adoption of MFs by women investors in India has surged over the past five years. The AUM of women investors more than doubled from ₹4.59 trillion in March 2019 to ₹11.25 trillion in March 2024, according to the study, which attributed this sharp growth to industry initiatives and awareness programmes.

 

In 13 states and union territories, the share of women in AUM is higher than 33 per cent. These include Mizoram, Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Goa, New Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal.

 

Women from the top 30 cities (T30) account for nearly three-fourth of the total women-linked AUM. Though the share of women from rural areas (beyond 30 cities or B30)  is rising steadily.

 

Women investors in T30 cities have a larger share of the total women investors’ AUM (74.8 per cent in March 2024). While the share of women in B30 has increased from 20.1 per cent in March 2019 to 25.2 per cent in March 2024, indicating the growing penetration of MFs among women in smaller cities, the report stated.

 

In B30, younger women have a higher share in the AUM compared to T30. Women below 35 years of age in B30 cities account for 15.1 per cent of the AUM, which is significantly higher than in T30, constituting only 9.4 per cent of the AUM.

 

This variation indicates that younger women in smaller cities are proactive about investing in MFs, bucking the trend of lower financial inclusion in these areas, according to the study.

 

An earlier study by Amfi and Crisil had highlighted that women investors have a higher holding period compared to men. 

 

The AUM of women investors in MFs with a holding period of over five years has grown from 8.8 per cent in March 2019 to 21.3 per cent in March 2024. In case of male investors, this has gone up from 8.2 per cent in March 2019 to 19.9 per cent in March 2024.