India's leading investment platform Groww recently conducted a survey to understand the investing habits of Indian women investors in the run-up to International Women's Day on March 8 2021. The survey was sent to more than 2.5 lakh women and fetched more than 28,000 responses over three days. Of the total respondents, 7.5% were from UP. The study's objective was to understand the qualitative aspects of women's investing habits, their goals, and how they view the process of wealth creation in general.

On this occasion, Lalit Keshre - CEO, Groww said - "Even after 70 years of our independence, women's participation in the decision making regarding investing is very low. We hope to reflect the shift in investment preferences, goals, mindsets, and roadblocks for women investors with this survey. We also captured how age, income, geography impact these differences."

He added - "The encouraging insight from the survey is that among the women who are investing, a majority of them take their own decisions. Even though many of them discuss their financial choices with their families or partners, the final decisions are their own. It's a remarkable shift from pre-conceived notions that men were the primary decision-makers even when it comes to managing women's wealth.

What is more encouraging is that women in the 18-25 age group have emerged as our most independent cohort, where almost 60% of women in this age group say that they make the ultimate decision on their investments. To encourage more women to invest, on the occasion of international women's day, we are introducing 'Groww Women's Week' wherein we'll charge zero brokerage for women investors from March 8 to March 15."

Here's a snapshot of the investment behaviour of women investors from Uttar Pradesh.

Preferred Investment Choices.

The preference for equity related investments is higher in women investors from UP compared with other asset classes. 77% of the women gave preference to mutual funds and 57% to stocks. When it comes to traditional investments, FD was the most preferred choice with 26% of the women choosing it, followed by gold (18%).

Investment Objectives

Half of the women investors from UP are investing to achieve their personal goals. A significant 41% of the women investors are investing to support their families and add to the household income. Compared to all other states,jh women investors of UP placed a higher importance on higher studies, with 14.7% investing to achieve this goal. The same percentage of women investors are also investing towards the education and marriage of their children.

Decision Making Ability

Compared to women from other states, women investors from UP are more likely to consult their friends and family. About 32% women stated that while they consult their dear ones on matters related to investing, they have the final say. 15.7% of the women investors said take investment decisions independently.

The insights reveal that not only are women investing with a vision but are also approaching their investments with a balanced and goal-oriented mindset. They are more independent in their decision making and are aware of the risk-return tradeoffs to achieve their financial goals.

What’s holding women back?

On the national level, the survey also captured the insights from about 2000 women who do not invest. Of these, 49% stated that lack of knowledge is their main reason for not investing. Further, 32% said that they don't have enough savings to invest.13% of women also felt apprehensive about losing their money in the market. It indeed calls for further awareness and education of women on the importance of investing in building long term wealth.

Owing to the awareness around financial products and the availability of apps that allow people to invest with ease, there has been increased participation from all genders and income groups. In this survey, 25% of women stated that consuming financial content online made them take the first step towards investing, and 22% said investment apps like Groww drove them to begin their investment journey.

Women are increasingly considering investments in equities as an opportunity to build wealth in the long term to meet their personal and financial goals. Investing apps like Groww that offer hassle-free investing and educational resources have been among the most prominent allies in increasing women's participation in investing.