Young women investors more likely to choose high-risk, high-return asset class: Survey

New Delhi: Young women investors in the age group of 18-25 years are three times more likely to choose a high-risk, high-return asset class like stocks over traditional investment options like fixed deposit, as per a survey.

A survey conducted by Groww, which fetched 28,000 responses, also noted women’s investment goals. It found that 57% of younger millennial women are investing mainly towards their personal goals, while 28% invest for their travel goals and 28% invest for higher education.

“The investment goals are changing with income and age,” the survey said.

Almost 70% of women in the Rs 30 lakh plus salary bracket cited early retirement as their main reason to invest.
For women earning Rs 10-30 lakh, the number of such women is 36%, and only 26% women making Rs 5 -10 lakh per annum, invest to retire early.

In addition, 64% of women over the age of 35 cited marriage and their children’s education as the main reason to invest.

Mutual funds have emerged as the most preferred asset class for women irrespective of income or salary bracket, the survey noted. Gold retained its place in the portfolio of women across age and income groups. Overall, 25% of women have invested in gold. “40% women earning more than Rs 10 lakh have invested in gold,” it said.

On investment in cryptocurrencies, the survey found that about 6% women making more than Rs 30 lakh per annum have invested in cryptocurrencies. In comparison, only 4% women earning less than Rs 10 lakh per annum have invested in cryptocurrencies.

The propensity to invest in real estate was higher in women making more than Rs 30 lakh per annum, it added. The survey also had insights about 2,000 women who do not invest.  Of these, 49% stated that lack of knowledge is their main reason for not investing while 32% said they don’t have enough savings to invest, and 13% women also felt apprehensive about losing their money in the market.