The current situation of women in investment is not great. While 25 per cent of Demat’s accounts in India are owned by women, most of them are managed by men in their lives.
LXME conducted a recent survey that showed that only 7% of women make independent investment decisions. They are not involved enough in the decision-making process.
Kanika Agarrwal, co-founder of Upside AI, says: “This is unfortunate because studies show that women are better temperamental investors. They do more research, last longer and follow a systematic plan to invest. “Women also trade less than men, which helps to improve returns even by simply reducing transaction costs.”
Stereotypes and concerns about women’s financial literacy
According to Agarrwal, it is a problem of stereotypes for men and women. “In a patriarchal society like ours, money decisions are often made by family men. By contrast, more women find discussions about money, investment and finance intimidating and daunting, “she said.
As mentioned above, women can be even better savers than men, but they are not involved enough in investing.
“You need to know” for women about budgets, finances and investment
- In Buffett’s words, “investing is easy but not easy.” Given the proliferation of current applications, explains Agarrwal, “starting the investment journey has become very easy where you can set up investment fund SIP with the click of a few buttons.”
- Experts say it can start small and eventually keep 6 months of spending as liquidity for emergencies.
- Invest regularly and don’t buy products if you don’t understand them.
- Don’t just rely on employee health coverage. Industry experts say that medical and temporary insurance should be obtained, as well as for your family.
- Starting to invest is the allocation of assets. Agarrwal explains: “You should look at your finances and, depending on the amount of risk you want to take, you should divide 100% into at least 3 classes of core assets such as stocks, debt and gold.”
- With share capital, says Agarrwal, “You can choose a NIFTY ETF, a pair of mid- and small-cap funds, an international fund (when you reopen) and start a SIP and invest monthly.”
- With debt, on the other hand, he suggests, “short-term money can be in fixed deposits, liquid funds and long-term. You can even choose conservative MFs who invest in government-backed government bonds.”
- In gold, experts suggest, you can buy gold ETFs or sovereign gold bonds with an 8-year lock-in period.
- Once a year, according to Agarrwal, check to see if the asset allocation has changed because your asset prices have moved, and then rebalance to restore it to your pre-determined allocation.
- Most importantly, remember that it is never too late to start investing. “Most money is made through a combination of returns, so starting today is better than tomorrow,” Agarrwal concludes.
