Women have emerged as key investors in mutual funds over the past few years — closing the gap with their male counterparts. One in four unique individual MF investors is now a woman (as of December 2024), with their AUM spread across various categories including equity, debt, hybrid and passive.
According to a newly released AMFI report, the assets under management (AUM) of women investors has more than doubled over the past five years — from Rs 4.59 lakh crore in March 2019 to Rs 11.25 lakh crore in March 2024. They also constitute a substantial proportion of individual investors’ AUM — about Rs 33 in every Rs 100 invested in MFs.
Women have also shown a growing preference for longer-term holdings in recent years. Assets under management with a holding period of more than five years increased to 21.3% in March 2024. Equity remains the most preferred investment option for women of all ages with AUM parked in small-cap funds showing a steady increase over the past five years.
Where are women investing?
Investment trends for women have changed significantly over the past few years. with the share of equity AUM increasing substantially to 63.7% in March 2024 . Meanwhile their participation in debt funds have declined consistently across all age groups while the allocation to hybrid categories remained relatively stable around the 20% mark. Women also exhibit a growing preference for passive investments and electronic gold schemes. The AMFI report notes that allocation to hybrid investments appears to increase with age.
“Women’s allocation to passive investment strategies surged from 2.5% in March 2019 to 4.1% in March 2024. Further ,passive gold schemes (which includes gold ETFs) which made up 5.2% of women investors’ AUM in March 2019, increased to 24.9% in March 2024, indicating a strengthening commitment to passive investing and preference for the electronic modes of investing in gold,” the report explains.
There has also been a significant increase in systematic investment plan accounts from various parts of the country. SIP accounts opened by women investors have reported a rise of 269.8% over the past four years — from 71.13 lakh in December 2020 to 2.63 crore in December 2024. The AUM of SIPs by women have grown approximately 250% during this period — from Rs 1.2 lakh crore in December 2020 to Rs 4.3 lakh crore in December 2024. Data shared in the report indicates that women in smaller (B30) cities are increasingly adopting such investments.