At Rs 55k-plus portfolio, India’s female investors beat national avg

Women in India are investing more actively and the average female trader has a portfolio worth Rs 55,454, reveals a new online report. The figure is actually higher than the portfolio size of the average Indian equity investor where nearly 50 per cent of demat account holders reportedly have less than Rs. 10,000.

While 68 per cent Indian women traders have portfolios amounting to less than Rs 1 lakh, 21 per cent invest in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, according to data released in a report by the internet brokerage platform FYERS. The number of women investing beyond Rs 5 lakh currently comprises around 11 per cent.

As much as 58 per cent women who actively participate in trading are aged between 26 and 55, the data shows, suggesting a growing slant towards financial independence in this age group. Interestingly, the report busts the notion that the trading scene basically interests the college youth.

Comparison with male investors shows that seasoned women are more prone to investing. For instance, women aged between 41 and 55 account for 24 per cent of female investors in India, which is considerably higher than 16.5 per cent men who take to trading in the same age group. On the other hand, in the 18-25 age group, women record lower participation rate (8.5 per cent) compared to men (21 per cent).

Data available on region-wise trends show Maharashtra and the southern states account for nearly 50 per cent of women investors in India. While Maharashtra ranks as the top state accounting for 22.38 per cent female traders in the country, Andhra Pradesh comes second with 10.68 per cent. Karnataka (7.65 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (6.43 per cent) and Kerala (5.78 per cent) complete the top five list.

A city-wise dissection shows the maximum number of female investors, not surprisingly, come from cities that are financial and IT hotspots. Bengaluru tops with 4.19 per cent women investors while Mumbai is second with 4.16 per cent and Pune ranks at number three with 3.93 per cent. Thane (2.66 per cent) and Hyderabad (2.62 per cent) complete the list of top five cities.

On an average the southern states account for around 25 per cent of female investors in India. Beyond big cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, the FYERS report shows an increasing interest in investing among women from Tier-2 cities of the southern states, too, with Mysore, Vishakhapatnam, Guntur and Thrissur leading the way.

Among Tier-2 cities on a pan-India level, Nagpur accounts for top numbers with 1.87 per cent of women investors. Visakhapatnam (1.12 per cent), Surat (1.05 per cent) and Guntur (one per cent) are the other Tier-2 cities seeing a rise in the number of women traders.

The study shows a stable growth rate of 5 per cent on a monthly basis in the number of women investors joining the FYERS platform. Women incidentally account for 20 per cent of the daily trading volume at Rs. 29,351 crore in a notional turnover.