Despite rising consumer interest in financial products, India's mutual fund industry has only 4 crore investors. In the podcast 'The BarberShop with Shantanu,' hosted by Bombay Shaving Company founder Shantanu Deshpande, Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Funds, says that the MF industry has to compete for investors' money with Swiggy and Zomato, and she urges young people to save more. Edelweiss Mutual Funds manages around Rs 1.2 lakh crore in assets. She is also a judge on the new season of the renowned Indian show Shark Tank.
"I am the one competing against Zomato and Swiggy!" Please save some of your Rs 50,000-60,000 per month, I'm telling you! People tell me that they can't even deposit Rs 100 into SIPs since they don't have the money..."I mean, you pay Rs 100 to Netflix every month!" she exclaimed.
"You should know that there are 40 crore people in this country who subscribe to one OTT streaming platform or use Zomato, Swiggy." So they pay at least Rs 100 every month? However, barely 4 crore people in India invest in mutual funds!" She is optimistic, however, that today's youth will save more in the future.
"We hold this generation in high regard. Our parents grew up in a scarcity-driven India, our generation in a transitional India, and the generation you're referring to has grown up in a pure abundance-driven India. As a result, there is less ownership and probably less enjoyment. But who's to say that when these 20-year-olds reach 30, they won't become savers?" She stated. "It is about creating value," Radhika Gupta said of entrepreneurship. whether you're creating in an existing company or launching a new one."
According to data released this week, overall inflows into India's equity mutual funds decreased in November, despite a record high in contributions to systematic investment plans (SIPs), in which investors make recurring payments into mutual funds.
Inflows into equity mutual funds fell 22.15% month on month to Rs 15,536 crore in November, from Rs 19,957 crore in October, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Some analysts blamed the drop in inflows on Diwali shopping, which competed for investors' money. In November, the Nifty 50 gained 5.52%. Sebi's chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, has stated that the markets regulator is striving to sachetize mutual fund investments, which will aid in financial inclusion.
"We are working with them (the MF industry) to see where the cost is, and what Sebi can do to facilitate bringing that viability down to Rs 250 per month, because that is the equivalent of what Hindustan Lever did with shampoo sachets." "You just blew up the market," she explained.
