Women go from money-shy to money-smart

AS PER LATEST AMFI data available, their SIP assets under management grew by 319.3% in five years to 2024, and today women account for nearly a third of all SIP assets.

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Moreover, their average SIP ticket sizes are 22% higher than men’s, and their lump-sum investments 45% bigger. The share of equity in women’s portfolios rose from 43.3% to 63.7%, and passive gold schemes jumped from 5.2% to 24.9% in the same period. As of March 2025, 25.91% mutual fund investors were women, compared to 24.2% in March 2024. Of the 53.13 crore Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts opened so far, 29.56 crore belong to women.

Clearly, as they grow more financially independent, women are also becoming more money-savvy. Says Arundhati Bhattacharya, president & CEO of Salesforce (South Asia), and former SBI chairperson: “These numbers are genuinely exciting. When I joined the State Bank of India decades ago, the idea of women as serious investors was barely a conversation. Seeing this growth now, especially from smaller towns, is deeply inspiring.” More than the numbers, it is the shift in intent that excites her. “Women are beginning to understand that money gives you a voice, not just at work, but at home too.”

Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of Lxme, an online financial platform for women, shares: “Today, Lxme has over 1 million women users across India. But it is the depth of engagement that is revelatory. Women are not just signing up, they are investing, learning, referring friends and family, and coming back.”

Gupta of Edelweiss calls the numbers ‘fantastic’, adding that they will only grow. “Financial independence is becoming important even in tier-2 or -3 towns.

The good news is, women are starting their financial journeys earlier,’ she says.

Staying the course