Out of over 250,000 investors that Finsafe has counselled, only 10-15% are women. Not much has changed in terms of either women’s apathy towards money and investing or their conditioning at home, where the attitude perhaps continues to favour men taking responsibility for all financial matters.
Mrin says change has to begin in each Indian household. Parents have to sit their daughters down and help them understand the need for financial understanding, the importance of financial freedom. Unless this grassroot change happens, not much is going to change, regrettably.
Mrin says we need a woman celebrity to take up the cause of women’s financial wellness – just as Deepika Padukone took up the cause of building awareness of mental wellness. Can AMFI look at creating an educational series for women investors featuring a woman celebrity, as part of its MFSH campaign?
Women who are keen to become financially literate are usually those on whom the responsibility has been thrust by circumstances –single mother, divorcee, death of spouse etc.
Women investors feel more comfortable with women advisors/distributors as they feel men often talk down to them, talk with too much jargon and don’t take the effort to understand them. There is huge scope for more women to enter the MFD profession.
Women investors like to see a more holistic picture rather than a product centric approach, they take their time to reach conclusions but they are also the best source of referrals as they are way more proactive in referring their MFD/RIA than male investors.
Mrin also feels that greater awareness must be created about women MFDs – so that women investors know who to reach out to. Another thought for AMFI – can AMFI create and popularize a separate tab on its website where it publishes a list of all women MFDs by city/pincode?