Women investors in mutual funds grow 2.5 times in 2024: Groww report

Women investors in the Indian mutual fund (MF) industry, especially from the smaller cities and towns, have grown more than 2.5 times (year-on-year) on average amid the boom in the stock market, a report showed on Saturday.

Women’s financial inclusion is increasing across urban and emerging regions and tier 4 cities saw a whopping over 140 per cent growth in women’s participation in the MF market, according to data shared by online brokerage Groww.

“While we had amazing growth across all segments in 2024, two segments stood out. Rise of women investors – number has doubled this year. And the number of portfolios with size greater than 1 crore tripled this year,” Lalit Keshre, Co-founder and CEO, Groww, posted on X on Saturday.

The women’s participation in MFs saw more than 100 per cent growth in Metro, tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.

Among the cities with the highest number of women MF investors are Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata (Metro) and Pune, Lucknow, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Jaipur (Non-Metro).

“Women’s SIP contributions are 25 per cent higher than men’s, and female SIP investors now make up one in four (compared to one in five last year),” the data showed.

When it comes to monthly SIP contribution, the average ticket size is Rs 2,500 (indicating a focus on long-term wealth).

Among the women SIP investors, 50 per cent are less than 30 years of age, followed by 33 per cent in the 30-40 year bracket and 17 per cent are age 40 and above.

Meanwhile, the Indian mutual fund industry saw a meteoric rise in 2024, as the assets under management (AUM) of all MF schemes increased by more than Rs 17 lakh crore this year.

According to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the mutual fund industry’s AUM was Rs 68 lakh crore at the end of November 2024, which is Rs 17.22 lakh crore or 33 per cent more than the December 2023 figure of Rs 50.78 lakh crore.

A record 42,76,207 investors joined the Indian stock market in November, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) data showed.

As per a latest SBI Research report, the country is witnessing at least 30 million new demat accounts being opened every year since 2021.

(With inputs from IANS)