We have undoubtedly made an enormous progress in creating saving and investment behavior in the last few decades. If we come to see the assets under management in the mutual funds has quadrupled in the last few years.
In the past few years, the graph has seen a rise in terms of increase in investment options for people all over the country. Not only have we seen an increase in the rural bank accounts being opened owing to the ‘Jan-Dhan Yojana’, but there also has been an increase in investments from urban India in share markets, mutual funds, IPOs, and several others.
Also, the market has seen the trends changing through this time and also the investment trends have seen a shift.
1. Rise in the use of banking services through JAM Yojana
JAM (short for Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity refers to the government of India initiative to link Jan Dhan accounts, Mobile numbers and Aadhar cards of Indians to plug the leakages of government subsidies. The JAM accounts holders also receive special privileges from the banks, such as zero transaction charges & zero minimum balance, which has helped in the Project’s success.
2. Increase in Mutual Fund Investment though with Low Risk
Investments in the mutual funds have considerably increased as more and more people are getting aware of the benefits and returns mutual fund investment has to offer. There is an increase in the number of people who invest in SIPs. Though they are not very experimental and skeptical of taking huge investment risks, they are inclined towards trying something new that could fetch them better returns with less risk.
3. Inclination towards Saving
According to a SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) survey, there is a high propensity to save in small towns and rural areas in India. The logical reason behind is the expenses are lower in small towns, leading to higher chances of capital formation. This shows that there a huge potential for growth in financial product penetration in this segment.
4. Use of technology
Where financial institutions & intermediaries have not been able to reach in the last couple of decades, technology has. Cheaper internet and mobile devices have facilitated the people in smaller town to get a taste of the new age financial services.
Mobile banking and investment applications have allowed even the most remote areas to dive gracefully into the shares & mutual fund spheres, and manage their money on the go.
Currently, the more and more people from small cities and towns are aspiring to have better financial situations and are looking forward to better investments. While there has been an outstanding rise in savings and investments behavior, there is a still a lot of ground to cover when it comes to creating awareness and making resources available.