Despite growing awareness for financial independence among women, only 33% take their own investment decisions, compared with 64% men. Of these, only 30% did so of their own volition, while most were prodded by their spouses or parents. Surprisingly, husbands played a bigger role (40%) than parents (27%) in encouraging women to take investment decisions.
These findings are a part of the DSP Winvestor Pulse 2019 Survey, conducted in association with Nielsen, among 4,013 women and men across 8 cities. It’s a part of the DSP Mutual Fund’s Winvestor initiative to encourage women to take charge of their investment decisions.
“The part that alarmed me was that women are guided more by their husbands, not by their fathers,” said Aditi Kothari Desai, Director and Head, Sales, Marketing and e-business, DSP Investment Managers. “It highlights the pressing need for women to be educated very early about investing, to enhance their standing from just being good savers to great investors,” she said.
Among other findings, men are the dominant decision-makers while investing or buying a car or house, while women play a bigger role while buying gold/jewellery, day-to-day household purchases and durables. Only 12% women said it was their decision to invest in market-based instruments compared with 31% men. On the other end, 28% women said it was entirely their decision while buying gold/jewellery as opposed to 17% men.
However, the top goals for men and women are similar: child’s education, dream home, child’s marriage, debt-free life and a higher standard of living. Women are more inclined towards child-oriented goals than men, while more men aim to start their own ventures and plan for retirement than women (26% & 23% for men, vs 23% & 20% for women). As many as 65% respondents said they started investing before turning 25, with 65% saying they felt children should be taught about investing before they turn 20.
A large number of women claimed to have an invest-first mentality, with 39% saying they planned investments first and adjusted monthly expenses accordingly (compared to 33% men). Of those who consulted someone to make investment decisions, only 42% women compared with 46% men consulted a professional financial adviser.
[“source=economictimes.indiatimes”]
