Summary of this article
Women investors form only 26 per cent base in mutual funds
Women investors prefer mutual fund as investment option through SIPs
Women remain an underrepresented section in the mutual fund investment space despite a rise in Indian women proactively taking financial decisions, while earning and saving. A survey by the Wealth Company Mutual Fund noted that women opt for growth-oriented products such as mutual funds despite forming just a quarter of the mutual fund investor base.
As of the end of December 2025, total assets under management of the mutual fund industry stood at Rs. 81.9 lakh crore, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. However, women investors formed only 1.38 crore of a total of 5.34 crore unique mutual fund investors, forming around 26 per cent of the investor database, as of March 2025, data from Angel One showed.
The survey showed that among respondents who did not invest in mutual funds, a majority of them set aside below 10 per cent of their income for investment purposes. This trend was seen more in tier 2 and emerging cities.
Meanwhile, around 56 per cent of the women said that mutual funds remain among the top three investment choices. Depending on the age group of the respondents, the other two investment choices differed from gold, fixed deposits, and insurance products. The study also found that women who have taken the first step in investing showed more confidence about the long-term potential of mutual funds. About 56 per cent of the respondents said that they strongly agreed that mutual funds could help them in fulfilling their financial goals.
Among different types of investments in mutual funds, an overwhelming majority chose systematic investment plans (SIPs) as their preferred mode across age and income groups. The only exception to this was the group of women above 58 years of age, who chose the lump-sum investment method as their preferred investment mode.
The study, which included responses from 2,030 women across cities, also showed that nearly half of the non-investing respondents sought more information about mutual funds. It also showed that a quarter of the investors who did not invest in mutual funds preferred simplified and packaged investment baskets.
Out of all the respondents, only 15 per cent felt completely confident about their financial decisions. 7 per cent of the respondents said they sought better advice from their investment advisers.
