4 AUGUST2022Editor NoteWomen Fund Managers Outperform their Male Counterparts in India In an average Indian household, gender stereotypes dictate that the man goes out to work and the woman runs the household. Apart from physically taking care of every need of a household, the average Indian woman is also entrusted with the responsibility to maintain the household's finances. It is also largely believed that women are more judicious when it comes to money management. However, the household budget is exactly where a woman's financial abilities also end. Ironically although women's ability to manage household finance has been proven time and again, yet the same women fall back when it comes to financial literacy. Indian women often shy away from making bigger financial decisions, especially pertaining to investment. There still exists a misguided notion that it is a male's responsibility to take critical financial decisions for a household.A similar thought manifests itself in the Indian wealth management/finance/investment industry; finance is considered a man's game. According to a report by research firm Morningstar India women held a meagre eight percent representation (of the total 376) in the entire fund manager category. The global average is slightly better at 14 percent. Although the industry saw a healthy rise in the number of total fund managers, unfortunately the growth in women fund managers has been rather slow. At the end of the year 2000, the representation of women fund managers stood at 14 percent globally. Unfortunately, two decades down the lane, the number remained the same; at the end of 2019, only 14 percent of fund managers were women.Looking closely at India, in 2019, the industry had 28 female fund managers and in 2020, the number had only increased to 30. Although 2020 came as a rude shock to every sector and industry, the mutual fund industry has fared well in terms of AUM over the past year. The mutual fund industry's assets during 2020 increased by 9.5 percent, with the total assets being managed now standing at approximately Rs.30.50 lakh crore as on January 2021 according to the report. It further mentioned that women fund managers fared better than their male counterparts. Of the total open-ended assets managed by women fund managers, 80 percent of the AUM outperformed the peer group average on a one-year basis. On a three-year basis also, 80 percent of the AUM outperformed and 74 percent of the AUM outperformed on a five-year basis.This clears up an important facet, women fund managers are equally (if not more) skilled that their male counterparts. It is only a matter of time that the entire world and especially the wealth management industry will put in the requisite steps to being more women fund managers to the table. After all, it's in everyone's interest. Do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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