A Project Report On,

“SAVING AND INVESTMENT PATTERN AMONG WORKINGWOMEN IN KALYAN

DOMBIVILI”

A Project Submitted to

University of Mumbai for partial completion of the degree of

Master in Commerce
Under the Faculty of Commerce
By
SUMIT SANDEEP MUNDE
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Sumaiya Farooque Ansari

Mangaon Shikshan Prasarak Mandal’s

D. G. Tatkare Mahavidyalay, Mangaon-Raigad

At Old Mangaon Near District Court
Tal - Mangaon, Dist.- Raigad. 402104

MAY-2023
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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MR. Sumit Sandeep Munde has worked and duly
completed his Project Work for the degree of Master in Commerce under
the Faculty of Commerce in the subject of Commerce and his project is
entitled, “SAVING AND INVESTMENT PATTERN AMONG
WORKING WOMEN IN KALYAN DOMBIVILI.” under my
supervision. I further certify that the entire work has been done by the
learner under my guidance and that no part of it has been submitted
previously for any Degree or Diploma of any University.

It is his own work and facts reported by her personal findings and
investigations.

Prof. Sumaiya Ansari

Date of submission

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 DECLARATION BY LEARNER

I the undersigned Sumit Sandeep Munde here by declared that the work
embodied in this project work titled “SAVING AND INVESTMENT
PATTERN AMONG WORKING WOMEN IN KALYAN
DOMBIVILI’’ Forms my own contribution to the research work carried
out under the guidance of prof. Sumaiya Ansari is result on my own
research work and has not been previously submitted to any other
university for any other degree to this or any other university.
Wherever reference has been made to previous work others at has
been clearly indicated as such and included in the bibliography.
I, here by further declared that all information on this document
has been obtained and other presented in accordance with academic rules
and ethical conduct.

Sumit Sandeep Munde

Certified by
Prof. Sumaiya Ansari

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 Acknowledgment

To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous
and the depth is so enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels
and fresh dimensions in the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me
chance to do this project.
I would like to thank m y Principal, Dr. B.M. Khamkar for providing
the necessary facilities required for completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank our Coordinator Prof. Swapnil Sakpal,
for her moral support and guidance.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project
guide Prof. Sumaiya Ansari whose guidance and care made the project
successful.

I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various

reference books and magazines related to my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or
indirectly helped me in the
completion of the project especially my Parents and Peers who supported
me throughout my project.

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 INDEX

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

1 Introduction 6 - 40
2 Review of Literature 41-54
3 Research Methodology 55 - 57
4 Data Analysis, Interpretation & 58 - 82
Presentation

5 Findings 83
6 Conclusions 84 - 85
7 Suggestions 86

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 INTRODUCTION

Economy of any country is driven by investments leading to capital formation.

Savings lead to investments. In India, the household sector occupies the prime place
as far as savings is concerned in comparison to institutional sectors, whether it is
private or public. Every government in the world would like households to save, as
personal saving constitutes the largest segment of national saving in most of the
countries. This is followed by savings of the corporate sector, with government
savings being least or negligible in most of the countries. According to the economists
and central bankers, for sustained economic growth of a country, rise in domestic
savings is necessary. As per 2013 RBI annual report, household saving for 2012-13 is
22.3 percent of the GDP. Every individual earning money, spends it to meet his or her
own personal needs or to fulfil the basic needs of his or her family.

Individuals use money for various purposes including funding their daily house hold
expenses and expenses incurred for buying luxuries for a better life. Money earned is
generally used to fund some immediate expenses or saved to meet some future needs.
Those who spend less than what they earn end up with savings. These savings can be
accumulated and grown to fund various goals, such as, for education, marriage,
vehicle purchase, house purchase or for acquiring any other asset, for medical
emergencies and for meeting the post-retirement financial needs in general, the entire
amount saved is not held in cash, but is invested in different asset classes or
investment avenues in order to get a return, which can be in the form of regular
income or capital appreciation or sometimes both. Women, in general are savers
according to the Association of Bankers 2013 report. Even in India, under the recently
launched Janardhan Scheme, a large number of new bank accounts were opened. In
rural areas, major part of the new accounts was opened in the names of women
according to the report released in 2014 by Punjab National Bank, resulting in a
greater contribution by women. This scheme provided an opportunity for women to
open bank accounts thereby increasing the percentage of the population under
financial inclusion program of the government. Successive governments in India have
stressed on providing and improving the educational opportunities for children,
especially girl children. The efforts of the government have led to an increase in the
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number of educated women, who are well qualified and have the necessary skills to
gain employment. With the opening up of the economy and the progress and
investment made in the banking, financial services, insurance, software and
educational sector, job opportunities have increased for women in India. The increase
in the number of employed women has led to rise in the number of savers as well as
the quantum of saving by women. As per census 2011, the population of India 1210.1
9 million comprising 586.47 million (48.5%) females and 623.72 million (51.5%)
males. Females have a share of 48.1% in the urban population and of 48.6% in the
rural population. Women find more opportunities to work in urban cities. According
to the NCAER survey of 2004 -05, the main source of income is through salary, for
people living in urban areas is 36.9 percent and
81.4 percent of households at the all-India level save a part of their earnings. The
figure is 88% for urban India and 78.5 % for rural India. The work force participation
by women in urban sector was 13.8% for females and 54.3% for males. Employment
to population ratio for female in India was last measured at 27.50 % in 2011. Table
1.1 helps us understand the avenues of investment according to the NCAER survey.
This table gives the distribution of investment in percentage of the total investment
made by households. Avenues of investment in this table are us as part of investment
classification in the current study.
Table 1.1 Distribution of Investment (as% of Total Investment)

Avenue of Urban Rural

investment
Stock Market 7.5 6.3
Small savings 5.4 6.7
Life Insurance 26.6 16.7
Jewelry 12.8 16.6
Consumer goods 32.3 39.1
Others 15.4 14.6
Total 100.0 100.0
Source: NCAER Survey 2004-05

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Financial Marketers are increasingly looking towards women investors for growing
their sales. The range of products is multiplying manifold due to globalization and
interconnectivity of financial and commodity markets across the world. There is
general notion that, men are more comfortable in managing money in comparison to
women.
However, with the increase in the number of women having an independent source of
income, there is an increase in the participation of women in the area of investments.
Financial products liked by and suitable for men may not meet the needs of a women
as they may have their own yardstick for taking investment decisions.
Majority of the studies carried out compare the investment pattern of men and
women. Very few institutions and asset management companies have tried to
understand the investment pattern and behavior of women towards financial product.
As India is a patriarchal society, investment decisions are taken by the male members
of the family. This reduces the interest of women to understand financial investments.
Women are consulted regarding investments in real asset investment like property and
precious metals such as gold and silver are concerned. There is dearth of studies
related to investment by women. Details about various studies carried out are covered
in chapter two under Literature Review. Based on past studies and the research gap
identified about the investments by women in chapter two, it will be illuminating to
know how the savings made by employed women are channeled into different
investment avenues and the reason for the same. It is in this background, that a
detailed study and analysis of the investment pattern among employed women has
been carried out.

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1.1Classification of Investments

Investments by individuals are made with an objective of generating capital

appreciation, regular income or both. There are various assets which offer investors a
combination of capital appreciation and income. There is a wide range of product
choices available for investors to meet their needs. All assets available for investment
for individuals are broadly classified into two types:
1.Real Assets
2.Financial assets

Real Assets

Real assets are tangible in nature and contribute towards the growth of an economy
directly. Investment in land, building and machinery are considered as investments in
real assets. Gold, silver and other precious metals are tangible in nature but are not
considered as real assets, as they do not directly contribute in the growth of an
economy. Investment in precious metal is considered as investment in commodities.
The predominant investments by individuals under real assets are in residential
properties. Investment in residential property could be in an empty site, an
independent house, flat or a rent yielding commercial or residential property. If not
self-occupied, a residential building can fetch an investor regular income by way of
rent as well as capital appreciation in case if there is an increase in the price of the
real-estate. Investment in residential property by individuals is for own use and also
provides an individual a place to stay post retirement and if required can be monetized
using reverse mortgage. Studies covered under literature review show that women
prefer investment in gold and real estate. Classification of investment in gold and real
estate has been broadened in the current study.

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Financial Assets
The major investment opportunity for individuals is available in this asset class.
Financial assets are indirect claims on real assets. They are intangible in nature and
are available in different forms like bonds, equities, mutual funds, exchange traded
funds, real estate investment trusts or a combination of debt and equity in various
proportions. Indirect claim on precious metals like gold and silver are also classified
as financial assets. Financial assets based on their features and characteristics are
broadly classified into:
• Debt
• Equity
• Hybrid instruments
Debt
This category of assets or securities provide regular return over the life span of the
instrument. The return is in the form of interest and, the rate of interest payable is
specified at the time of making the investment in the instrument. Interest is paid on
the face value of the security and the most common frequency of payment of interest
is semi-annual. The rate of interest payable is also known as coupon rate. Interest is
paid till the maturity date of the debt instrument.
Debt instrument having a life of less than a year is traded on the money market.
Popular instruments traded on the money market are, treasury bills, commercial
papers and certificate of deposit.
Debt instrument having maturity period of one year or more is traded on stock
exchanges as well as on the over the counter (OTC) market. India government dated
securities having a maximum maturity period of 30 years are available for investors
looking for risk-free long-term debt instruments. There are cases where more than 30
years’ bonds are issued including perpetual bonds, which do not have any maturity
period.Investments in debt instrument carry default risk. Companies issuing any form
of debt instrument should obtain credit rating from approved rating agencies. The
rating assigned indicate the financial ability of the company to fulfil the obligations as
per provisions of the bond indenture, which include timely payment of interest and the
ability to pay back bond value as per the terms of issue at the time of maturity of
bonds.

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Government issued bonds are considered to be the safest among the debt instruments.
As far as Indian markets are concerned, liquidity is a major challenge for investors.
Hence, Investors looking for stable and regular income are the major investors in this
category of asset class.
There is limited scope for capital appreciation in these instruments. Past studies
covered in chapter II indicate that women prefer to invest in debt instruments issued
by postal department and bank deposits. An attempt is made in the current study to
add a broad range of debt instruments available in the market including the debt
mutual funds.
Equity
In simple words, investment in the equity of any company makes the investor a
shareholder of the company. Investors in equity market focus mainly on capital
appreciation rather than regular income. Many profitable companies declare and pay
dividend to the equity shareholders. Not all equity shares are liquid. Equity shares of a
listed company get traded on the stock exchanges, providing a high level of liquidity
in comparison to debt instruments. The perceived risk associated with equity shares is
much higher in comparison to many financial products available in the market. The
two major stock exchanges in India where equity shares are actively traded are
National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Review of
literature carried out in chapter II, indicates the increase in the number of women
investing in equity directly or through mutual funds. An attempt is made in the current
study to understand the source of information and influencers leading to investment in
equity by women.

Hybrid instruments
There are financial instruments that have characteristics of a debt instrument for a
certain period and then acquire the features of an equity. Such instruments are called
as hybrid instruments. Common example of hybrid instruments are preference shares,
convertible debentures, where the debenture is converted into equity shares, foreign
currency convertible bonds and warrants.
House hold savings contribute significantly in capital building. Table 1.2 gives the
details of house hold saving in India, as percentage of GDP for the period 2009 –
2013. Savings are sub classified under physical assets and financial assets.

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Table 1.2 House hold saving as percentage of GDP

Financial Financial Physical

Year Assets Assets 13.2%
2009 – 10 12%
2010 – 11 9.9 % 13.2%
2011 – 12 7.0 % 15.8%
2012 – 13 7.1 % 14.8%
Source: The Economic Times dated 15/4/14

Table 1.3 Assets Breakup

Financial Physical Financial

Year Assets% Assets%
2008 48.12 51.88
2009 57.09 42.91
2010 52.49 47.51
2011 57.01 42.99
2012 69.23 30.77
20 13 67.59 32.41
Source: CMIE, Mint dated May 28, 2014

It can be observed from Table 1.3 that from 2008 to 2013, there is a gradual reduction
of investments in financial assets. It has dropped from 51.88 percent to 32.41 percent
in the financial year 2013, indicating that individuals preferred investing in physical
assets in comparison to financial assets. In this period, the major investment in
physical assets consisted of investments in gold. During the period from 2008 till
2012 gold price was on continuous rise giving handsome return for investors in gold.

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1.2. Investment Theories Efficient Frontier
Markowitz plotted risk and return for all possible portfolios consisting of various
combination of assets. Out of the plotted values, he created an envelope of the most
efficient portfolios, called the efficient frontier. The portfolios lying on the efficient
frontier offered the maximum return for a given level of risk and the least risk for a
given level of return.

Capital Market Theory

Capital market theory took forward the Markowitz portfolio theory and led to the
development of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) by William Sharpe. It was
observed that the total risk of portfolio consisted of systematic (non-diversifiable) and
non-systematic (diversifiable) risk. Unsystematic risk could be reduced by adding
more securities to a portfolio, but the systematic risk associated with a portfolio could
not be reduced, exceptional case being international diversification. Remained, it may
not possible to reduce the systematic risk associated with a portfolio. For a well-
diversified portfolio, the systematic risk is represented by beta (β). Beta value
indicates the percentage change in the equity value, for one percent change in the
market index value. Higher is the beta, higher is the systematic risk. CAPM takes into
account the combination of a non-risky portfolio (σ=0 and β=0) with a portfolio of
risky assets and helps in finding the expected or required rate of return for a risky
asset under the assumption made by William Sharpe for the capital asset pricing
model.
The expected rate of return is calculated as
E (r) = Rrfr + β (RM – Rrfr) Eq – 7
Where
Rrfr= Risk free rate of return RM= Market return
β = beta of the portfolio
σM = Standard deviation of the market index
CAPM is not only used in the field of investment, but also extensively in the world of
corporate finance to set the minimum return expected from a risky project.

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1.3 Indian Investment Scenario

Over the last 25 years the world of investments in India has undergone a sea change.
The change is in terms of the variety of products, alteration in the market participants,
rules and regulations, grievance redressal mechanisms and the functioning of the
markets. This change was due to the growth of the Indian economy and the opening of
the economy to foreign investors. Foreign investments in the Indian securities markets
were restricted till late 80s.There was restriction on foreign direct investment and
portfolio investments by foreigners. Indians were not free to invest in markets abroad.
Investors had very limited investment options and products to choose from.
Investment opportunities were limited to bank deposits, postal department savings
schemes, national savings certificates (NSC) of different maturity periods, monthly
incomes schemes (MIS), traditional life insurance products offered by the life
insurance corporation, unit trust of India (UTI) operated unit -64 mutual fund scheme
employee provident fund, public provident fund, equities and debentures. Due to the
large reach of postal department, investors were investing in most of the small
savings’ schemes offered through postal department and where ever stock exchanges
were there. Investors had the opportunity to invest in equity shares of listed
companies. For urban investors opportunities were available for investing in equity,
bonds, debentures and other instruments available in the capital market. For rural
populations there were chit funds in addition to postal schemes. There is possibility
that, due to lack of investment opportunities, rural India focused on buying gold, other
precious metals and stones along with agricultural land and other real estate assets. At
one point of time people invested in gold bonds. Due to the presence of Life Insurance
Corporations of India in smaller towns and district headquarters, life insurance had
popularity with some investors. Till mid-90s, Life Insurance Corporation of India was
synonymous with life Insurance. Banks had limited presence, and options available to
investors were recurring deposits and fixed deposits. Unlike the present scenario,
banks were not marketing any third-party products.

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1.4 Types of Financial Markets
Based on the types of instruments and the tenor of the instrument, financial Markets
are divided into two broad categories:
1. Money market
2. Capital market

Money Market

This market deals with short term instruments. Short term instruments have a maturity
period of less than one year. Popular instruments traded are treasury bills issued by
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), commercial papers issued by private sector, and
certificate of deposit issued by banks. This market is a wholesale market where the
major participants are banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and other
institutions. Retail investors have limited presence. Small investors can take part in
this market through primary dealers or mutual fund houses that offer schemes
investing in instruments traded on the money market. Reserve Bank of India is the
regulator for this market.

Capital Market
In this market financial instruments with life spans of more than a year are traded. The
instruments available in this market are equity shares, debentures bonds, mutual funds
including exchange traded funds (ETF‟s). Capital market is regulated in India by
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This market is further divided into
primary and secondary market.

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Primary Market
In this market companies raise capital by offering securities to public. The
instruments offered are equity shares, bonds, debentures or any other security
approved by the capital market regulator. The offer made to the public is also called
as Initial Public Offer (IPO). If any firm approaches the market for further issue of
capital, then such issues are called as further public offer or Follow on Public Offer
(FPO). There is reservation of 35 % for retail investors in all IPOs. In spite of
reservation the subscription by retail investors is not very encouraging. Mutual funds
also approach investors through new fund offer (NFO) and private and government
companies take the premarket route for raising capital by issuing bonds and
debentures.
Secondary Market
In this market, all the securities issued in the primary market are dealt. This market
offers liquidity for the securities offered in the primary market. The transaction in
securities in the secondary market are done through the stock exchanges and over the
counter (OTC) market. Major investment opportunity for retail investors exists in this
market. Securities to be traded on the stock exchanges have to follow all the rules and
regulations of the stock exchanges and SEBI. BSE and NSE are the two major
exchanges of India. More than 5500 companies’ securities are listed on BSE, but
active trade takes place in about 3000 company shares. Many flies by night companies
delisted from exchanges for not conforming to the rules and regulations of exchanges
and SEBI.
With the opening of the mutual fund sector for entities other than Unit Trust of India
(UTI) in mid 80s, there was a rapid growth in the mutual fund schemes offered by
Indian banks and foreign mutual fund houses. This brought in product innovation due
to the expertise of the foreign fund houses as well as due to the competition. Investors
were able to get a wider range of mutual fund schemes meeting their requirements. As
of today, the market size of mutual funds in India is close to Rs 10 lakh crores, and
many investors enter the securities market through mutual fund investing.
Till the creation of SEBI, retail investors suffered in the hands of brokers and other
financial intermediaries due to lack of transparency in the execution of the trade and
pricing of securities. Investors in stock market were at the mercy of stock brokers. In
early 90s many investors lost money and faith in the capital market due to various
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scams led by Harshad Mehta’s stock market scam, which exposed the weakness in
regulation of the stock market. Investors lost money due to lack of transparency in
brokers, manipulative promoters and fly by night companies that entered the capital
market, as well as due to lack of regulatory control. Stock exchanges were controlled
by brokers which resulted in further sufferings for the retail investors, as exchange
authorities were not bothered about the resolution of investor complaints and
grievances. Investors were plagued with defective documents including fake share
certificates, damaged transfer deeds, signature mismatching transfer deeds, delay in
transferring of shares, non-receipt of dividends and many more issues which
weakened the confidence of the investors
A major change in the Indian market took place with the setting up of Securities
Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for the securities market. Major
objective of SEBI is investor protection and investor grievances resolution
Major reforms in the market started with the formation of SEBI, which was given
sufficient powers to prosecute and penalize errant brokers, stock exchanges,
companies and manipulators. Opening of National Stock Exchange (NSE) in a
demutualized form, where the owners of the exchange were different from the
members having trading rights brought in the transparency in the trades and prices.
NSE embraced technology from inception and brokers could set up office in any part
of the country due to the screen-based trading on NSE. Foreign investors were
allowed to participate in the Indian capital market in mid 90s which led to further
growth in the Indian capital market. Further impetus to the market was provided by
the passing of Depositaries Act 1996, which paved the way for holding the securities
in the electronic form by investors. This reduced the investor’s complaints regarding
delay in transfer of shares, removal of duplicate and fake shares from the market and
all other problems faced when the securities are held in physical form. Participation
by foreign investors and holding of securities in electronic form brought in the
demand for derivatives market which was opened for Indian investors in the year
2000 that again led to the surge in the capital market investment. With the growth in
the capital market the mutual fund industry started to grow and is now offering a very
wide range of products meeting the needs of various types of investors.

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As of today, more than 40 asset management companies offer more than 1400 types
of mutual fund schemes including systematic investment plans index funds, ETF’s
and manage assets close to Rs.10 lakh cores. In the year 2008 NSE and BSE have
started offering foreign currency trades. With the rapid penetration of internet and the
mobile phone services along with the online money transfer facility, trading in
securities is different from what it used to be a decade back.

Table 1.4 Proportion of household investment in Equity (in %)

Year Investment in
equity
1981 3.0
1985 4.5
1991 8.0
1993 11.0
1995 9.0
2001 6.0
2005 4.5
2011 4.0

House hold savings since 1981 is displayed in the above table. It is observed that
equity investment had peaked in 1993 and has been consistently falling since then
indicating the lowering of interest in equities by investors.
Insurance sector also grew along with the capital market. Life insurance and general
insurance were controlled by government owned companies till the mid-90s. Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) was synonymous with Life Insurance in India. The
Insurance landscape has changed when government opened up the insurance sector to
private players. A new regulator for this sector was formed to regulate the Insurance
market. Insurance regulatory development authority (IRDA) is the regulator of the
insurance sector in India.

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Due to the intense competition the service level increased and many new products
were launched. Increase in product range allowed people to buy products meeting
their requirements. One of the revolutionary products launched in this sector was the
Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIP) that allowed insured people to participate in the
growth of the capital market. Under this scheme part of the premium paid, goes
towards the term insurance cover and the balance amount is invested through fund
houses into various schemes, including liquid funds, bond funds and equity funds.
There was rampant mis-selling of insurance products during the initial days of ULIP
product availability, due to higher commissions offered to the insurance agents and
other intermediaries. IRDA stepped in and put restriction on the commission level.
This step from IRDA has reduced mis-selling of ULIP schemes.
Marketing of insurance schemes has increased the penetration level, but still India is
an under insured country.
Withdrawal of pension by government led to increase in demand for annuity funds
and insurance linked annuity products. We have reached a stage where IRDA is
taking necessary steps to offer holding of Insurance policies in electronic form, which
is likely to help an investor consolidate all his financial holdings. In spite of a wide
range of products, gold is a preferred investment for Indian investors for historical
reasons. The primary demand is for gold is in form of jewelry followed by gold coins
and bars of different weights. There is change in the way gold investment opportunity
is available today. Investors have the option to invest in gold through commodity
exchanges. Commodity exchanges allow investors to hold gold in electronic form.
There is a choice for investors to invest in gold through mutual fund houses that offer
gold linked schemes as well as gold linked exchange traded funds.
Boom in real estate and its attraction for Indians, serve dual purpose of investment as
well as consumption. The increase in the income level and the increase in nuclear
families, have aided the growth of the real estate investments. Many investors buy
second and third home from an investment angle and look for capital appreciation as
well for regular income by way of rental. Real estate investment is a big-ticket
investment. Real estate as an investment product is out of the reach of small investors,
due to the lack of availability of suitable products. As of now there is no product
available in the market for small investors to participate in the real estate sector, for
small investors. Government is working on allowing

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real estate companies to offer retails participation by way of Real Estate Investment
Trusts (REITS).
Despite regulators and the use of technology, there are still some grey areas. Chit fund
industry, though for many years is considered to be highly unregulated, is still popular
with small investors in certain pockets of the country. Chit funds act as an investment
avenue for many investors, as participation in chit funds has dual option of investment
as well as a source of borrowing money. In the semi urban and rural areas, chit fund is
still considered as a primary source of savings.
In the current scenario, Indian financial markets are robust and well regulated by the
respective regulators. There is a need for banks to come out with more products for
their customers. Investors have limited choice of fixed deposits or recurring deposits.
Banks are allowed to sell mutual funds, pension schemes and insurance products
which has increased products availability across India.
There is an urgent need for creating investor awareness among retail investors.
According to some studies carried out by mutual fund houses, lack of knowledge and
awareness about various financial products is one of the factors for the slow growth of
the financial sector. Lot of effort is put by regulators, stock exchanges, insurance
companies and mutual fund houses to spread the financial literacy level in last five
years. Financial literacy has improved during the last five years, due to increase in the
internet usage and portals offering financial education workshops. All regulators
involved with the financial sector conduct investor awareness programs and
workshops in order to help investors in taking informed investment decisions. There
are special workshops held for women by many companies as percentage of women
taking their own investment decisions is seeing a rise.
SAVINGS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
The role of savings and investments and its impact on macro-economic factors have
raised Controversies amongst economists. While few economists argued that excess
savings could lead to depression, other economists were against this argument. Adam
Smith refuted the opinion and argued that savings could lead to economic growth. In
the wealth of nations, Smith maintained that, “As the capital of an individual can be
increased only by what he saves from his annual revenue or annual gains, so the
capital of society, which is the same with that of all individuals who compose it, can
be increased in the same manner what is annual saved is as regularly consumed as
what is annually spent, and nearly at the same time
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too; but it is consumed by a different set of people” (1937, p 123).
According to classical theory of savings and investment, the key factor that would
bring savings and investment into equilibrium at full employment is the interest rate.
In other words, an increase in savings would lead to decrease in the interest rates and
this would cause an increase in investment and thus stimulate growth.
Keynes challenged the classical theory and argued in his work Keynes General
Theory that, “The traditional analysis has been aware that savings depend on income
but it has overlooked the fact that income depends on investment, in such fashion that,
when investment changes, income must necessarily change in just that degree which
is necessary to make change savings equal to the change in investment” (1936, p 184).
He also stated that ‘” increased investment will always be accompanied by increased
saving, but it can never be preceded by it” (1939, p 572). Further, Keynes sated that,
“The investment market can be congested on account of a shortage of cash. It can
never be congested on account of saving” (1973, p 222). In contrast, the supply-
determined growth theory suggests that savings determine investments and hence, any
economic policy should be aimed at increasing the private savings which would result
in lower interest rates and which, in turn, would increase investments.
REAL ASSETS v/s FINANCIAL ASSETS
The society’s material wealth is a function of productive capacity of the economy.
The production capacity refers to the quantum of goods and services its members can
create. This capacity is a function of real assets of the economy, namely, land,
buildings, plant, machinery, intellect etc. On the contrary, financial assets, such as
stock, bonds, etc. either in material or de-material form, do not contribute directly to
the productive capacity of the economy. These assets are the means by which
individuals or institutions hold their claims on real assets.
Real assets generate net income to the economy and the financial assets define the
allocation of income or wealth among investors.
Investor’s return on financial assets derives from the income generated from the real
assets, which were financed by issuance of those securities.
The securities, that are financial assets to the investors, are the liabilities to the issuers
of such securities.

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PROPERTIES OF FINANCIAL ASSETS
Financial assets have specific properties that distinguish them from physical and
intangible assets. These properties are,
• Monetary value
• Divisibility
• Convertibility
• Reversibility
• Liquidity
• Cash Flow

Monetary Value
Financial assets are exchange documents with an attached value. Their values are
denoted in currency units determined by the government of an economy.

Divisibility
Financial instruments are divisible into smaller units. The total value is represented in
terms of divisions that can be handled in a trade. The capital of a firm is collected
through financial instruments that are issued in a unit format (shares). Each unit
represents a face value of the total capital. The divisibility characteristics of financial
assets enable all players, small or big, to participate in the market.

Convertibility
Financial assets are convertible into any other type of asset. For instance, a borrowing
can be converted into capital. A firm might issue, in the first place, a debt instrument,
which is to be repaid after the specific duration. At the end of the period, the firm
could five the investor an option to convert it into a share of the company. This
characteristic of convertibility gives flexibility to financial instruments. Financial
instruments need not necessarily be converted into another form of financial assets;
they can also be converted into any other type of asset.

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Reversibility
This implies that a financial instrument can be exchanged for any other asset and
logically the so formed asset may be transferred back into the original financial
instrument.

Liquidity
Liquidity is the distinct feature of financial asset. The financial instruments can be
converted into cash at ease, due to the existence of a strong secondary market. The
financial assets are quite liquid thereby, making the financial instruments tradable and
exit at any point of time.

THE PROBLEM OF RISK & RETURN

Every investment comes with some amount of risk and every investor wants to
maximize the returns on his investment. Generally, investments with higher risks can
only generate higher returns. Therefore, the investor has to question himself whether
he should take higher risk to earn a higher rate of return. Even if the investor is
willing to assume the risk, the question is, given his profile, can he afford to take very
high risks. Often, the investor is confused between ability to take risks and
willingness to take risks. A clear understanding of the two and application of them
into practice is essential for investment discipline.

into practice is essential for investment discipline.

An investment manager aims to secure the largest possible rate of return at the highest
level of risk an investor is able to assume. Risk means uncertainty about the size of
future returns on a principal amount invested. Rate of return is the relationship
between returns realized and the principal amount invested, usually expressed as an
annual rate.
Thus, there are two central concepts of the theory of investment management. One is
the concept of maximizing returns. The rate of return that is realized on the portfolio
is the score, and it is subject to comparison either publicly or privately with scores of
other investments. The second concept states the stability of investors to assume risk
limits the efforts to maximize returns. To assume risk is to take the chance of loss as
well as the chance of gain. All investments carry some risk of loss and of gain, but the
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level of risk varies widely among the different kinds of securities. Some investors can
afford to risk larger losses that others.
The investor needs to build a portfolio with asset class where risks are aligned with
the financial goals. The investor should primarily need to be fully aware of the risk
tolerance. The risk tolerance levels vary between individuals. Financial planning goes
beyond stating investment goals and allocating money into assets. It also involves
identifying an investor’s level of tolerance for risk and then investing money in asset
classes that are most aligned to that level

Risk profiling is a process that helps investors to assess how much risk they should
take while identifying an asset mix, such that the level of risk is aligned to the stated
investment goals.
In other words, risk profiling helps investors determine the variations in returns they
can tolerate in achieving their investment goals.

TYPES OF INVESTORS
Based on the risk tolerance level, investors can be classified into,
• Conservative
• Moderate
• Aggressive
Conservative investors shall take lower risks and is basically risk averse. The
conservative investor’s basic priority is safety of the capital. He accepts minimal risks
and is hence, prepared to receive minimum or low returns. Investors with such profile
should allocate most of their money into fixed-income and money-market products.
Moderate investors are willing to take slightly higher risks as compared to
conservative investors for a moderate level of return. Investors with this profile can
allocate their money in debt as well as hybrid products like mutual funds, ULIPs etc.
so that they can earn a moderate level of income with moderate risks.
Aggressive investors are prepared to assume a high level of risk and expects high rate
of return for over a period of 3-5 years. Such investors can park their savings in risky
assets like equity, real estate etc. These instruments yield a high rate of return with a
highdegree of risk attached therein

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Identifying Risk Profiles
There are three key components that comprise a true risk profile, namely,
• Risk attitude
• Risk capacity
• Need to take risk

Risk attitude is psychological willingness to take risks; risk capacity refers to the
financial ability to take risks; and the need to take risks refers to assumption of risks
with a view to meet an objective. Understanding the investor’s tolerance helps the
financial planner select investments that are appropriate for the investor and forms the
foundation of an appropriate asset allocation process.

Parameters Risk Profile

Conservative Moderate Aggressive
Age 50 & above 35 – 50 20 - 35

Dependents Parents and kids Kids Spouse

Commitments High Moderate Low

Liquidity needs High Moderate Low

Loan/Liabilities Yes - No

Risk Appetite Low Moderate High

Income stability Unstable - Stable

Time horizon Short Moderate Long

Financial literacy No - Yes

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Source: “Know your risk profile before investing”, Times of India, dt-16th October
2012,p. 19

1.10FACTORS AFFECTING RISK TOLERANCE

Risk tolerance level of the investor depends on a number of factors and shall change
from time to time. The risk tolerance level need not be a constant. Following are the
factors that determine the risk tolerance level of an investor,
• Age
• Family situation
• Wealth and income
• Psychological
• Financial literacy

An investor may have lower risk tolerance as they get older. A young investor may
take more risk and be more dynamic as against an elderly investor who may prefer to
play safe.
The investor’s family position may also play a role in the risk tolerance level. An
investor who needs to finance his children’s education or take care of his parents or
have some domestic compulsions may have to take lesser risk. An investor who is
free from such domestic compulsions may take higher degree of risks.
Wealth and income of an investor shall determine the risk tolerance level of the
investor to a great extent. In case the investor has higher wealth or income, he shall
start investing more aggressively; and the investor whose wealth or income is
relatively less would invest in more cautious manner.
A mere psychological factor shall also have an impact on the risk tolerance level of an
investor. If the personality of the investor is such that, he is risk averse, he shall take
lesser risk as against the aggressive investor who is ready for some calculated risks.
The level of financial awareness has certainly the impact on the risk tolerance level of
an investor. A financially educated investor is bound to understand the intricacies and
take more risk; whereas an investor who is not financial literate may be risk averse

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.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
The investor needs to define his objectives so that he moves in that direction. The
main investment objectives are
• Increasing the rate of return and
• Reducing the risk.
• Availing tax shield
• Increasing the rate of return
Return is the ultimate objective in any investment program. Many investments have
two components of return, namely,
• Capital Gain or Loss
• Some form of income – interest, dividend, etc.
The returns shall be measured in any of the following form,

• Holding Period Return

• Arithmetic Mean Return
• Geometric Mean Return
• Return on Investment
• Expected Return

The investor shall always intend to maximize the returns on the investment.

Reducing the risk

Risk assessment is one of the most important aspects of modern financial
management. Before embarking on any investment, a person should understand both
the expected returns and the likely riskiness of those returns.

Following are the measures of total risk,

• Standard deviation
• Variance
• Semi-variance
• Geometric

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Risk is generally referred to as “chance of loss” and the risk has numerous subsets.
Total risk refers to overall variability of the returns of the financial asset. The total
risk has two principal components, namely,
• Un-diversifiable risk and
• Diversifiable risk
Un-diversifiable risk is the risk that must be borne by virtue of being in the market.
The risk arises from systematic factors that affect all securities of a particular type.
Diversifiable risk can be removed by proper portfolio diversification. The risk arises
due to company-specific events or factors.
The investor shall aim to reduce the risk to the possible extent.
Availing tax Shield

Investor tries to take advantage of certain privileges from the Income Tax Act of 1961
like Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD, 80D etc. so that he engages in tax planning. In this
process, he chooses the investment channels that provide him cushion of paying lesser
taxes. Investments such as Insurance, ELSS, ULIPs, etc. provide tax shield.

1.12 INVESTMENT v/s SPECULATION

It is very important to distinguish investment from speculation. Investment differs
from Speculation in many facets. Benjamin Graham once said, “Everyone who buys
or sells a security has become an investor, regardless of what he buys, or for what
purpose, or at what price”
Investors and speculators have different views and thus different actions. Benjamin
Graham, in his book, Intelligent Investor, writes, “An investment operation is one
which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return.”
Hence, investment has three components, namely,
Thorough analysis
• Safety of principal
• Adequate return

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Graham, further states that, if any operation does not include all these three
components, it is speculative.
The following further differences can be seen between investment and speculation,
• Investors have long term view, whereas, speculators have relatively shorter
duration.
• Investors behave like the business owners, whereas, speculators behave like
creditors.
• Risk inherent in investment is relatively lower as compared to speculation,
where the risk is quite high.
• The investors expect a moderate and a normal rate of return, as against
speculator, who expects relatively higher rate of return.
• An investor shall more often concentrates on fundamental analysis, while, the
speculator would depend on technical analysis, sentiments and psychology.
• The investor more often is quite cautious and conservative, whereas, the
speculator is more aggressive and careless.
• Returns of an investor is more stable and reasonable, wherein, the returns of a
speculator are uncertain and erratic.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Portfolio is the grouping of various financial assets that consists of equity, debt,
mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and real assets like gold, silver, other precious
metals, real estate, etc.
Portfolio Management refers to the art and science of making decision with
respect to investment mix or asset allocation, so that the underlying objectives are
achieved. Portfolio management basically is choice of debt v/s equity, domestic v/s
international, growth v/s safety and many other trade-offs encountered in the attempt
to maximize the returns, at the given appetite for risk.
Portfolio management or investment management is the professional management of
various assets, both financial and real assets, in order to meet the specified investment
goals for the benefit of the investors.

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INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR LIFE CYCLE
Financial plans and investment needs are as different as each individual. Investment
needs change over a person’s life cycle. The investment plan should consider the
investor’s age, financial status, future plan, risk aversion characteristics, needs etc.
Before embarking on an investment program, the investor needs to make sure that his
three important needs are satisfied, viz,
Adequate income to cover living expenses and
• Safety net in case the unexpected could occur
• Cash Reserve

Life insurance has to be a part of any financial plan. The life insurance serves many
purposes, like,
• To meet the long term or retirement plan
• To protect the loved ones against financial hardship, in case of death before
policy maturity
• To provide protection against uncertainties like payment of medical bills,
disability Etc.

Cash Reserve is quite important to help meet the contingencies and emergencies like
job layoffs, unforeseen expenses, emergence of good investment opportunities, safety
cushion etc. The proportion of cash reserves should also change over the life cycle of
the investor. Assuming that the basic insurance and cash reserve needs are met,
individuals can start a serious investment program with their savings. Due to the
changes in net worth and risk tolerance levels, the individual investor’s investment
strategies will change over their life time.

Accumulation phase
Persons in their early and middle years of working
• These investors are focused on immediate needs (ex: the purchase of a new
home) as well as longer term goals (retirement, etc.).
• Investors in the accumulation phase usually have a low net worth, and often
carry high amounts of debt (mortgage, loans from college, etc.)

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 • Characterized by a willingness to make relatively high-risk investments in the
hope of making significant gains over time
Consolidation phase
• Individuals in the latter half of their careers
• Have paid off major debts like college loans
• Investors in the consolidation phase still have a long investment horizon and
willingness to accept risk in exchange for longer term gains.

Spending phase
• The spending phase usually begins with retirement
• Day-to-day expenses are covered by accumulated assets, employer pension
plans, and social security.
• There is a reduced willingness to accept risk, because the prime earning years
have passed, and there is a slimmer margin for loss.
• However, younger retirees can expect to live at least 20 more years. Therefore,
they still have to think of long-term gains and income growth.

INVESTMENT PROCESS
The portfolio management process refers to the process an investor takes to aid him in
meeting his investment goals. Following steps need to be considered while engaging
in investment activity,
• Create a policy statement
• Choice of the asset mix
• Develop an investment strategy
• Selection of securities
• Portfolio execution
• Portfolio revision
• Performance evaluation
Create a policy statement
The investor has to primarily draft a policy statement which should contain the
investor's goals and constraints relating to investments. This is certainly the most
important in the portfolio management process .

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The policy statement requires the investor to consider his true financial needs, both in
the short run and the long run. It helps to guide the investor in meeting his needs. In
case of market uncertainty or a change in investor's needs, the policy statement will
help to guide the investor in making the necessary adjustments in the portfolio in a
disciplined manner.
The major objectives include current income, capital appreciation, safety of the
principal etc. He needs to prioritize these objectives based on his needs.
In addition, he has to also understand the constraints arising from the investments
such as liquidity, time-horizon, tax etc.
Choice of an asset mix
This is the most important decision that the investor needs to take in the investment
process. This decision is concerned with the proportion of ‘stocks’ and ‘bonds’ in the
portfolio. The term ‘stocks’ include equity and equity related investments like mutual
fund, ULIPs etc. ‘Bond’ includes investment in fixed income bearing securities like
debentures, Government bonds, corporate bonds etc. An appropriate ‘stock-bond’ mix
is vital component of investment decision, which depends on various factors like risk
tolerance, investment horizon, current income v/s capital appreciation etc.
Develop an investment strategy
This entails creating a strategy that combines the investor's goals and objectives with
current financial market and economic conditions. There are basically two strategies
available, namely, active portfolio strategy and passive portfolio strategy. In an active
portfolio strategy, the investor tries to earn superior risk-adjusted returns through
market timing, sector rotation, securities selection and so on. On the contrary, passive
investment strategy aims to hold a diversified portfolio and maintain a pre-determined
level of risk-exposure.
Selection of securities
The investor plays the most important role in selection of securities. He may select
from his own wisdom or borrow the ides from the experts. The investor shall
undertake fundamental analysis and technical analysis to select ‘stock’ related
securities. In case on ‘bond’ related securities, he shall consider yield-to-maturity,
credit rating, term-to-maturity, tax shelter, liquidity etc.

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Portfolio execution
This entails putting the investment strategy to work, investing in a portfolio that meets
the investor’s goals and constraints. This is the practical step, where the investor tries
to buy the securities or sell the specified securities in given amounts. This is an
important decision that shall have an impact on the investment results.
Portfolio revision
Both markets and investors' needs change as time changes. As such, it is important to
monitor for these changes as they occur and to update the plan to adjust for the
changes that have occurred. The portfolio value and the portfolio composition may
change, subject to change in the values of stocks and bonds. Hence, there could be a
need for shift form stocks to bonds or bonds to stocks, stock rotation, security
switches etc.
Performance Evaluation
A periodical survey of the portfolio performance is quite essential in the investment
process. The key factors to be considered are risk and return of the portfolio. The
investor needs to check if the returns are in line with the underlying risk. This review
shall enhance the quality of the entire process and must be undertaken on a continued
basis.
THEORETICAL VIEW OF WOMEN INVESTORS

Men and women are born equal and both play an important role in the creation and
development of family in particular and society in general. In the traditional family
husband earns for the family and wife maintains it. Her role was mainly confined to
domestic works. She creates life, nurtures, guards and strengthens it. She plays the
role of wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter
etc. She is the transmitter of tradition and the instrument by which the family culture
is preserved.
Women’s role which was confined to domestic areas has now switched over to the
other areas where she is competing with her male counterpart. This is due to the
education she is getting, the women centered policies, programmed of the government
and the job opportunities available to her in the wake of modernization, urbanization,
industrialization, liberalization, globalization etc. The opportunities available to
women paved the way for economic independence and their involvement in political
and social sphere has increased to a great extent.
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There were times when the prime role of women was confined to her household
duties. But as times changed, the world realized that her potential was meant to be
explored in various fields. Today’s women are a hard taskmaster, managing between a
homely wife, a shrewd boss, a genuine companion, with such ease and grace that is
remarkably appreciable.

1.17. STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA

The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past
few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of
the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history
of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high
offices including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha, etc.
In India, traditionally men have been the bread winners where as women typically ran
the household and saved for the rainy days. This was the scenario, till women started
working and took the command of financial matters. Today holds the key to
happiness; hence women should plan their finances and investment well. Women
have to save on a regular basis and smallest of the surplus income they like to invest
prudently. The role of women has changed from “Savers to Investors”. Most of the
working rural women have regular income because they work on the basis of wages.
Savings are seen as insurance against foreseeable future difficulties which are
completely unpredictable. Therefore, women investors insure themselves against
future risks by saving in the form of various investments such as deposits, gold, lands,
and herds or by hoarding money.
A woman, if employed, she is the best asset of not only to her husband but also to
their entire family. Though money is a sole vital factor for a competent living, the
source of it is also equally much significant. Generally, the source happens to be a
job. Hence, for a family man, his earnings alone are not copious for a happy life.
Wife’s employment, investment, in that sense, is a significant and inevitable source
for a better maintaining of a family.
The status and role of women is vacillating all over the world. Women’s stepping out
of the confines of the households multiplied their roles and responsibilities. They have
to shoulders their domestic responsibilities as well as say themselves in the
professional arena. But the balance between the two fronts is guileful exercise. The
tilt on any side to a state of conflict generated from the related role. (Nilima S, 2005).
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1.18. WOMEN AND SAVINGS

Saving schemes are very important for countries which are experiencing deficiencies
in economic growth. There is a need for saving mobilization which means advocating
the need for more and more savings to improve the economic policies. It is human
need to save.
Savings are to keep something for the future, by foregoing its consumption in the
present day. A person earns with the objective of being able to spend and fulfil
various basic needs.
Keynes paradox of thrift advocates that individual savings are good for an economy.
However, overall savings for an economy are bad as they pull down the consumption,
reducing down the national income of the economy.
Savings is a habit specially embodied to woman. Even in the past when women
mainly depended on their income. They used to save to meet emergencies as well as
for future requirements. Many forces have contributed to the growth of the newly
emerging middle class working women in India. The socio-economic liberation of
Indian women has itself being a product of, and an instrument in the change in their
lives due to employment. A deep of vital change has taken place in the economic
condition and personal status of women in the recent past.
It is accepted fact now that women have to play a prominent role in the overall
economic development of our nation, as they constitute 50 per cent of the total
population, “when women move forward, the family moves, the village moves,”
claimed Jawaharlal Nehru. It is recognized throughout the world that only when
women are in the mainstream of progress can economic and social development be
possible and meaningful.
Freedom depends on economic conditions more than other reasons. Now, the present
women, who is equally employed, through their education have knowledge about
various aspects of investment and as result they invest in various investment avenues
such as shares, debentures, mutual funds and bank deposits. Indian savings market has
been expanding over the period and there is a steady increase of household savings.

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1.18 INVESTMENT MANTRAS FOR WOMEN INVESTORS

Women are not as active as men when it comes to investing money. They generally
keep themselves away from taking investment decisions, they are well known for
spending money or keeping it idle, rather than investing it for earning more. Even
non-working women are mostly dependent on their spouses for meeting their day-to-
day expenses. Though to some extend it is true that women are dependent on their
spouses for finance, they should also think about their future.
Women should start thinking and understanding the importance of money, savings
and its investment aspect to avoid critical situations at any stage of their lives. They
need to develop skills to plan for their financial needs. Generally, women tend to keep
cash idle rather than investing it. They tend to think that this “idle cash” can be easily
used to meet expenses beauty parlors, jeweler etc.
However, as an exception few women invest in less risk avenues such as bank
deposits and post office schemes. They generally avoid risky options such as equities,
as they think that it is difficult to understand equity market trends, patterns and as they
volatile in nature.

1.20. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACED BY WOMEN

INVESTORS
The challenges and opportunities faced by women today honors some women of
substance, puts forward some social issues and hopes to offer realistic means towards
creation of a gender unbiased society. Women today have scaled great heights. They
are impervious to the traditional beliefs of our society in a non-defiant but affirming
way. They know what they want. They are not apprehensive in discovering their
capacity and carving their own niche in these contemporary yet conventional times.
They know striding a fight balance between personal life and career is challenge and
they learnt to conquer it with grace of savings.
Swearing by the principles of equal opportunities as propagated by the constitution
itself, the role and contribution of women in society at large can never be completely
underlined, however it is articulated. It is imperative today that each woman investors
should understand the role what she plays in society. However, there is a need to
address certain challenges faced generally by women today.
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1.21 SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT PATTERN OF WOMEN INVESTORS
In India the socio-economic profile of the people changes dramatically. Today people
are not only spending on products and services, earlier considered a luxury but are
also looking at smarter ways of investing their money. This is mainly due to the fact,
that people today not only have a wider choice of investing in different saving
instruments, but are also more educated and aware about their choices. Women are
now moving beyond the traditional savings options of Fixed Deposits, Post office
savings to wider investment options in the form of Insurance, Mutual funds, Bonds,
Equities and even property.
Income minus expenditure is equal to Savings. In today’s rapidly changing financial
environment, it is critical that individuals not only protect and enhance their current
financial resources, but also prepare for future security and against lass of income.
This requires careful planning and prudent management of one’s financial assets.
Savings is a natural human activity because some large purchases cannot be afforded
immediately. Financial planning is the key and the first step towards fulfilling one’s
dreams and aspirations. Good planning ensures financial security for the family
throughout life. An important component of a sound financial plan is not only the
inclusion of life insurance coverage in the plan. It is therefore unique needs with
qualified financial planning advisers who can assist in determining the right plan and
amount of coverage required.
Saving and Investment are two key macro variables with micro foundations, which
play a significant role in economic growth. Savings enable people to manage
emergencies, to smooth out peak income and expenditure to make investment in
homes, families and businesses and to provide for old age. Savings encourages
cohesion among women investors and serve as a reserve for repayment of loan from
financial institutions. Even though the women investors are poor, they contribute
some amount of money as savings on a regular basis. Most of the women investors
feel that savings is an important activity but the amount they save every month is not
uniform. Though some of the women investors are uneducated, they come to know
about various savings and investment avenues with the help of agents, family
members and friends. Regular savings and investment are valuable in developing an
informal rural financial system which can be a great benefit of women. Systematic
savings among women also helps to ensure good loan repayment rates.

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The savings of women in investors provides the source of funds to make small
investments such as LIC schemes, Post office savings schemes, Bank Deposits, Chit
Fund, Mutual Funds are some of the key saving instruments. With the advent of the
investment options in the market, consumers are now exposed to an array of modern
and innovative products. For example, depending on the needs of the customers, life
insurers have introduced customized products in the market. Women investors also
prefer Insurance policy because they have to pay only small amount of money every
year and they prefer savings in post office because they can withdraw their amount at
times of necessity.
Women in India now participate in all activities such as education, politics, media, art
& culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc. More investment improves lot
of rural women which creates a “virtuous circle” of better education, improved health
and higher income and women need to be given the right to have more control over
productive assets like land, water and credit.

1.22.GENERAL BEHAVIOUR OF WOMEN INVESTORS

Gone are the days when men were deemed masters of moolah as recent studies have
proved that women are wiser investors than men. Different risk perception by women
and men generates different emotional responses, leading to different investment
behaviors. Recent and past research has shown that these psychological differences
inherently make women better investors. The first point to be noted here is how
women like to be in absolute control. This trait is observed not only at work but also
home. Women adore being in control of their environment at all costs. They might
take time in doing so but will achieve it somehow.
Being in control denotes order and women like order just as much.
The world of investment is full of apprehension, uncertainty and unfamiliarity. These
certainly do not project what women would want from any situation. In such
situations women behave in a very typical womanly fashion – they get anxious and
strained. But these negative outcomes instigate women to fare as better investors.
When they are unsure, they exercise caution and invest gingerly. To women, having a
safer investment at times is better than facing losses.
As a woman, and an investor, shaping of financial future is as important as the many
other roles they play in life. That's why taking control today is essential in realizing
their dream
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. Whether women are just beginning to develop their investment strategy or are
refining a current one, it's important to keep in mind that they should build a financial
legacy for long term. At various stages of your life, you are faced with important
investment and financial decisions. Your success in making these decisions with the
help of a sound investment strategy can have a major impact on your income, net
worth and, ultimately, quality of life in retirement.
Women today have more earning potential and more influence over financial
decisions than ever before. Women represent almost half of the workforce and many
businesses are owned or managed by women. Many women influence or control the
majority of all consumer purchase decisions and many of the investment decisions. As
a result, it is important for women to focus on finances now more than ever.
Throughout their lives, as a woman, they will be faced with different financial
challenges than their male counterparts. If women are going to take control of their
financial future, it’s important that they recognize those differences and empower
themselves.
Earning money is only half the equation for achieving financial independence.
Effectively putting your money to work for you is equally important. Though the size
of household income matters, how to manage the money women have - to meet short
term obligations as well as long-term goals -determines how they live today and in the
future. That's why taking control of their finances is so important. The challenges of
investing are unique for each individual. In addition, circumstances are frequently
different for women - and whatever choices you make will be better as a result of
greater knowledge of the underlying issues and your options.
1.23. WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE LONGER

As a woman; the life expectancy is at an all-time high. In fact, 90% of women

eventually end up living on their own. To help ensure that women will be able to
maintain their lifestyle, they should stay involved in investment decisions and
consider planning for the unexpected early on.

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1.24. WOMEN ARE LESS LIKELY TO TAKE INVESTMENT RISKS

For whatever reason; many women are less willing than men to take risks. Yet, a
certain degree of risk is necessary to build a well-diversified portfolio. By learning all
about investing, women can become more comfortable making investment decisions
that involve different levels of risk.
1.25UNIQUE NEEDS

Virtually every investor faces special circumstances. Primary investment of an

individual and the unique risk profile that results from employment can play a big role
in determining a suitable investment portfolio for women. These unique needs often
center on a woman’s stage in the life cycle. Retirement, housing and children’s
education and many other factors demand for funds and investment policy will
depend in part on the proximity of this expenditure.

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 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
Literature review is the process of going through the articles related to the topic of
research topic, which are published in journals, online databases, magazines,
newspapers, books or any other source of information including online sources.
Literature review helps researcher to know and understand the findings and views of
earlier researches who have carried out research in an area similar or related to topic
of study. It also helps in understanding the data collection methods and the statistical
tools used for analyzing the data. The key findings and the conclusion drawn by
researchers are of great help for any new researcher. It helps us the researcher to find
research gaps, which could be taken up for further studies.
A large body of literature is available in the area of investments related to institutional
investment pattern, portfolio construction methods, portfolio performance evaluation,
retirement planning, product preferences and many more associated topics. Studies
have been carried out by researchers on the gender differences in allocation of assets,
constituents of domestic savings, saving behavior of household, gender differences in
knowledge about financial investments, investors risk tolerance, investor’s perception
of various financial products. Some of the most insightful studies carried out in India
and outside are given below.
1.Nupur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal (2013) looked at the constituents of domestic
savings and investments by investors, from the cities of Mumbai and Delhi. A total of
251 respondents were administered a structured questionnaire in person and with the
help of online survey portal. The type of sampling chosen for the study was
convenience and snowball sampling. Respondents from different age groups and
professions were contacted for the study. Data was collected from April to November
2011. The reliability of the questionnaire was ascertained by Cranach’s alpha value.
Important variables for the study were extracted using factor analysis. The three
factors identified were stock market factor, savings factor and interest rate factor. For
discrete data like, investment in stock market and city of dwelling, Chi square test was
used to establish the presence or absence of association. For finding the relationship
between discrete independent variables like income level and the investment pattern,
one-way ANOVA test was used. The investment patterns were categorized as, Non-
Risky, Risky and Combination. Classification was based on the composition of the

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investment held by the respondents. It was found that bank deposits was the most
preferred were found in the investment patterns of households between the cities of
Mumbai and Delhi. Stock market investment was third most preferred investment
avenue in Mumbai whereas it was not so with the respondents from Delhi. There was
significant dependence of investment pattern on household income only in the age
group of 40 to 49years. Interest rate did not have any relation with the investment
pattern. This is in contrast to the study by Kabra (2010) where one of the factors
influencing investment decision was the prevailing interest rate.

2.Geetha. N and Ramesh M, (2012), studied the role of demographic factors in

investment decisions. Response received from 475 respondents from Navaratnam
district of Tamil Nadu was used for analysis. The sampling method used was
convenient sampling. A well- structured questionnaire was used to collect the data
from the respondents. Statistical inference was drawn using ANOVA and Chi square
tests. The demographic attributes included age, gender, education, occupation,
income, savings size and family size. The investment avenue considered for the study
were gold, provident fund, life insurance, real estate, bank deposits, postal savings,
mutual funds and equities.
According to the study, risk protection, safety of investment, rate of return and
liquidity were main factors which influenced investment decisions. This is in line with
the findings of Elder & Rudolph (2003).
Graduates and post graduates were more likely to invest in long term investment
products. This is in contrast to the study by Al-Tammie (2009), who found no
relationship between educational background and investments. People in the age
group of 31 to 40 years preferred investing in long term investment products. People
with a family size of four and above preferred short-term investments. Self-analysis
and advice from friends and relatives were the major source of investment
information. This study found that most of the respondents preferred monthly
investments. Further it was found that majority of the respondents were driven by
technical analysis and newspaper reports while taking investment decisions.
The most preferred investment was life insurance followed by real estate, provident
fund, gold and silver respectively. The researchers concluded that preference for real
estate and gold was may be due to the boom in the prices of gold and silver during
their period of study.
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3.P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013) conducted a study in the
city of Mysore, to understand he factors influencing investment decisions. The sample
size for the study was 120 respondents. They used judgment and snow ball sampling
to collect the data. The study was conducted in the first half of 2013 in the city of
Mysore. Statistical tools used for analyzing the data were Percentage, mean, standard
deviation, Chi square test, F test,
ANOVA and regression. Data was classified based on the demographic profile of the
respondents. It was found that liquidity was the most important factor while choosing
an investment portfolio as far as government employees and entrepreneurs were
concerned. This is similar to the findings of Geetha. N and Ramesh M, (2012). Private
employees and professionals gave equal priority to growth and liquidity. Women did
not select investments on the basis of safety of the principal. This is in line with
studies conducted by Annika, Sanden and Surette (2009) and Bernasek (2002). Based
on the correlation between occupation and investment objective, it was found that
investment objective had no relation to the occupation of the respondent. Liquidity
and tax reduction were found to be the two important criteria for the selection of the
investment portfolio in this study
4.Ravi Vyas and Suresh C Moonat (2012) carried out a study on the perception and
behavior of mutual fund investors. The study was carried out to understand the
preference of investors investment avenues, mode and form of investment preferred
by investors at Indore with a sample size of 500 respondents out of which 363
respondents were investing in mutual funds, and these 363 respondent’s data was
analyzed to come out with conclusions. A structured questionnaire was used to collect
the data during personal interviews. To understand the nature of holding by the
respondents, chi square test was used along with the calculation of median and mode.
After analysis of data, it was found that Gold was the most preferred investment
option followed by bank deposits and fixed deposits. Mutual fund investment got
average score in parameters like safety, liquidity, reliability and tax benefits. Majority
of the investors were aware about the risk involved with mutual funds. Direct equity
investment was not the most preferred investment avenue. Respondents preferred less
risk products in comparison to the risky financial products.

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5.Giridhari Mohanta and S S Debasish (2011), conducted a study on the investor
preferences among the investors from the city Cuttack and Khurda in Orissa. Sample
size used for the study was 210 respondents, consisting of men and women residing in
the geographical area of the study. They used a structured questionnaire consisting of
35 questions for collecting the data. The questionnaire had 12 questions regarding the
demographic attributes and 23 questions related to the various factors influencing the
investment avenue. A total of five investment avenues were considered for the study,
namely, equity shares, mutual funds, insurance, bank recurring deposits and postal
schemes. Data was analyzed using mean and percentage. Equity investment was
considered to be risky. The study found that respondents having an annual income of
rupees 10 lakhs and above were willing to invest in equity market, whereas lower
income respondents preferred bank deposits and postal savings. This is in line with
the findings of Raja ram (2010) and Ravi Vyas and Muoonat (2012) Further the study
found a relationship between occupation and Investment Avenue. Business class
respondents were willing to invest in equity and mutual funds, whereas government
employees preferred mutual funds, insurance and bank deposits. Investors considered
safety of investment as a major criterion

6.Umamaheshwari.S, Ashok Kumar (2011) carried out a study to understand the

investment pattern and awareness level of individuals belonging to the salaried class
from the city of Coimbatore. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data
during December 2010 to July 2011. Responses from 1000 respondents were
collected over a period of eight months from the areas of Valparaiso, Pollachi,
Metupalayam and Coimbatore. Statistical tools used for analysis were Chi Square test
and ANOVA along with mean value calculation. The awareness level was divided
into three types: low, medium and high. Classification was based on the mean score
obtained for the respondent. It was found that the most preferred avenue of investment
was provident fund followed by insurance gold and jewelry. The financial product
awareness level among men and women was low. Married people had better
awareness compared to the unmarried ones. Savings and investment pattern were
influenced by the education level of the respondents. A strong correlation was found
between monthly income level and the number of dependents.

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.
7.Gaurav Kabra, Prashant KMishra and Manoj Kumar Dash (2010) carried out a
study in order to identify the factors that could influence investment decisions of
individual investors. The sample frame chosen for the study was the investors who
had invested regularly. Data was collected using a four-page questionnaire containing
questions related to demographic details and their investments. A total of 196
completed questionnaires, found complete in all respects were used for data analysis.
The consistency of the questionnaire was tested by calculating the Cronbach Alpha.
The statistical test used were standard deviation, percentage, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
measure, factor analysis and regression. A total of 18 statements were identified to
understand the investment pattern of individuals. Using factor analysis six component
factors were identified. The factors were security, opinion, awareness, hedging,
duration and benefits. It was found that there were no significant differences of
opinion, security and hedging among different age groups. There was significant
difference in the awareness level, benefit and duration among different age groups.
Women preferred investment product carrying higher level of security in comparison
to men. This is in contrast
to the findings of P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013) where women
did not consider security as a main factor.
8. Sunita Bishnoi (2013) carried out a study consisting of 200 respondents from
Faridabad, part of national capital region. It was found that most preferred source of
saving was life insurance followed by deposits with banks, PPF and postal savings.
This is in contrast to Nupur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal (2013), who found Bank
deposits to be the most preferred investment avenue.

Occupational group and gender did not have impact on investment objective. This is
in similar to the findings of P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013).
Newspapers and magazines were the most preferred source of information. Most of
the investors preferred the investment horizon of five years and more. Main
investment objectives were safety of capital followed by tax savings. Age, income and
education were found to have association with the investment objectives. Respondents
for the study were picked using convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire
containing questions related to demographic details and the investment objective
along with investment preference was administered to the respondents. Simple
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percentage calculations along with Chi square test was used to analyses the data. This
study reconfirms the association between.
9.Pandian L and Aranganathan T (2012) carried out a study in the district of
Cuddlier, to assess the attitude of the salaried people towards savings and
investments. To collect the data, a structured questionnaire was used. Sample size for
the study was 520 respondents. The respondents covered different age groups of
salaried class. The sampling technique followed was multi stage sampling. To
measure the attitude of investor towards savings and investments, a five-point rating
scale was used. To identify the major aspects of savings and investments, factor
analysis was used. ANOVA was used to find the relationship among variables. Major
aspects of savings and investments were found to be to have a secured life and good
future. There is lack of push from government to create savings habit. Past wrong
investments also had influence over investments and savings decisions.

10.Parimal Kanthi and Ashok Kumar (2013) carried out a study in order to
understand the investment holding behavior of investors from the city of Coimbatore.
The sample size for the study was 600, and the sampling plan used was convenience
sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the
respondents. Cluster analysis, and chi square test was used for classification of the
investors and to find the association between the personality type and the investments
held. Based on the personality profile of respondents, they were classified as
Innovative, moderate and conservative investors. Most of the investors were in the
category of innovative and moderate. Most preferred investment avenue for moderate
investors was Post office saving schemes followed by bank deposits and pension
schemes. This is in contrast to the findings Nippur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal (2013)
and P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013) of Conservative investors
preferred National Savings Schemes (NSS) and were averse to chit funds. Innovative
investors were willing to invest in mutual funds and endowment policies, bank
deposits, postal savings, life insurance policies and mutual funds. It was found that
mutual fund and endowment policy were independent of the personality type, whereas
other investment avenues under study were dependent on the personality of the
investors.

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11.Buchaiah M. (2014) carried out a study to in order to understand the perception of
individual investors from the city of Hyderabad, towards mutual fund investment.
Sample size of the study was 300. Data was collected from the respondents using a
questionnaire. Convenience sampling was used for picking up the respondents for the
study. Questionnaire contained questions related to the demographic details and their
perception about mutual funds. Weighted mean value and percentage calculation were
used to analyses the data. The study found that investors below the age of 40 years
were more conscious about savings and investments. Growth fund was the most
preferred mutual fund scheme followed by balance fund and income fund.

12.Karthikeyan K, Bharta S and Ranjit Kumar K (2012) carried out a study to

understand the perception of those investors who were sold the mutual fund products
by banks. The survey was conducted in the city of Tiruchirappalli city in Tamil Nadu.
The sample size for this study was 108 and the method of sampling used was
convenience sampling. A five-point rating scale was used to capture the response of
the respondents. In the rating scale, one stood for strongly disagree and five for
strongly agree. Questionnaires were distributed to only those respondents who had
prior experience in mutual fund investments. The statistical tool used for the analysis
were, factor analysis, multiple regression, correlation and reliability statistics. It was
found that, before taking investment decision investors take into account competitive
product offerings, quality of service offered, past return on investment, safety,
communication from fund house and emergency need to fulfilment.

13.Rajarajan (2000), conducted a study on investor demographics and risk bearing

capacity, using a sample size of 405 investors from the city of Chennai. The variables
used for the study were age, occupation, family size, income and the current
investments made. The respondents were classified into four risk bearing capacity
categories R-I, R-II, R-III and R- IV based on the percentage of investments in high-
risk assets to total financial investments made by the respondent. High risk assets
included equity shares, mutual funds and convertible debentures. R-I had no
investments in risky assets, R-II and R-III had high risk investment below 40 % and
R-IV had more than 40% investment in high-risk assets. To analyses the association
between the risk bearing capacity and the independent variables viz. age, occupation,
family size and income, Chi square test was used. The study found a strong
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relationship between the four independent variables namely age, occupation, family
size and income and the risk bearing capacity of the investor. It also supported the
earlier studies carried out confirming the relationship between age and income and
investment pattern.

14.Tirupathi.T (2012) in his study to understand the tax planning by individuals from
Vellore district of Tamil Nadu found that, there was lack of association between the
age, marital status and gender of the respondents as far as tax planning is concerned.
A Sample size of 750respondents was used for the study. Convenience sampling was
used for the selection of the respondents. A structured questionnaire was used for
collecting the data. The study period was from July to December 2010. The data
collected were analyzed using, mean and standard deviation along with simple
percentage analysis, ANOVA and Chi square test was used to find the association and
relationship between the variables under study. To measure the attitude a five-point
Likert scale was used.

15.Aparna Samudra and Bhurghate (2012) carried out a study to understand the
investment behavior among the middle-class investors from Nagpur. The study was
carried out to examine the preference of the investment instruments and investment
pattern of the middle-class households along with the objective of investment. The
investment options considered for the study were Bank deposits, shares, mutual funds,
real estate, Kisan Vikas Patrika and post office deposits. A sample size of 300
households was used for the study. Statistical tools like percentage and mean were
used for carrying out the analysis

The study found that bank deposit was the most preferred investment option followed
by life insurance Investment in provident fund and post office deposit were at the
third and fourth place. This is similar to the findings of Nupur Gupta and Vijay
Agarwal (2013). Real estate was found to be the least preferred investment avenue.
Investment in equity was not figuring in the preferred investment avenue across all
age categories

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16.Ramanujam.V and Chitra Devi K (2012) conducted a study to analyses the
impact of socio-economic variables on the attitude of investors towards investments.
The sample size for the study was 100 respondents from the city of Coimbatore. The
sample consisted of respondents from different age group, educational back ground
income level and with varied level of awareness about the financial products. A
structured questionnaire was administered for collecting the responses of the
respondent. Convenient sampling method was used for picking up the respondents. To
analyses the data, NOVA, mean and Chi square tests were used. It was found that the
occupation of the respondent and the frequency of making investment were not
significantly associated. The study did not find any relation between annual savings of
respondent and purpose of investment. It was also found that, there was no difference
in the investment patterns of respondent’s form government, public and private class
of investors. The findings of this study were different from most of the other studies
that found association between the nature of jobs and income levels with the
investment pattern.
17.Suyam Prabha R, (2011) carried out a study to understand the Decision-making
process and pattern of investments by investors from the city of Coimbatore. The
sample size for the study was 109 respondents. Data was collected using a well-
designed questionnaire. Data was collected during September – October 2009.
Respondents were selected among those who were working in Bank, Non-Banking
Financial Company (NBFC) in an Information Technology (IT) company. Statistical
tools used were simple percentage analysis, weighted average score and Chi square
test. It was found that the selection process of a suitable financial product depended
on the, age, gender, marital status and educational background, annual income and
quantum of amount saved annually. The main purpose of saving by married
respondents were towards child education. Employees of NBFC firms were moderate
risk takers and were investing in mutual fund schemes. Bank deposit was the most
preferred investment avenue
18.Kathrivel. N and Mekala.A (2009) carried out a study in Coimbatore district to
understand the women investors’ perception towards on line trading. The sample size
for the study was 150. Convenience sampling was used for the selection of the
respondents. A well- structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the
respondents. Chi square test was used to find if there is association between the
desired variables and women investors
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perception. Investment related variables included age, income, educational
qualification, occupation and number of dependents. It was found that there was a
significant association between age, education qualification and time taken for
investment decisions. This similar to the findings of Umamaheshwari.S, Ashok
Kumar (2011). No significant association was found between marital status and
investment decision. This is similar to the findings of Tirupathi.T (2012) but in
contrast to the findings of Suyam Prabha R, (2011).
19 Syed Tabaasum Sultana (2010) in her research work, studied the Indian investors
behavior to understand the relationship between the risk tolerance level, age and
gender of an individual. Researcher found that investors were well educated and
earned well, but were poor risk takers. A negative correlation was found between risk
tolerance level and age. This supports the findings of Srinivasan, Sakthi K and
Lakshmidevi S (2006). Among all the sources of information, television was found to
be the most influencing source of information to make investment decision for an
investor. Over all investors have low level of risk tolerance.
20. Patti Fischer (2010), used the Survey of Consumer Finance (SCF), 2007 data to
understand the gender differences in personal saving behavior. Sample size was 1171.
Sampling frame for the study were persons who were single and not married. This
criterion was set to have clear understanding about the investment decision maker.
Statistical tools used were Likelihood ratio test and Logistic regression analysis. The
independent variables included age, income, risk tolerance, preferences and
consumption needs. The respondents were classified as low risk tolerance and average
risk tolerance. Men and women differed significantly as far as risk tolerance
distribution was concerned. Over half of the women were not willing to take financial
risk. Difference between men and women was found in short term and regular saving
behavior. Women with poor health were likely to save less in short term, whereas
poor health condition did not play any role in short-term saving of men. Women had
low risk tolerance Education level had positive relationship with the savings habit of
men.
21. Clark and Strauss, (2008) found that women were more risk averse in
comparison to men. Based on age as a factor, the young are willing to take a higher
risk in comparison to the old. Wealthier individuals were willing to invest in equity
market in comparison to poor who preferred risk averse securities.

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22.Srinivasan, Sakthi K and Lakshmi Devi S (2006) in their studies covering 13
villages with a sample size of 291 rural investors, found significant relationship
between percentage of income saved and the gender. Study found no significant
association between the percentage of saving and age. It was also found that, majority
of rural investors invest in post office savings followed by insurance and bank
savings. Rural investor looks for the safety of the capital.
23.Gnana Design C, Kaliselvi. S and Anusuya L., (2006) studied the perception of
women towards investment. The study focused on the investment pattern of women
investors. Their empirical study found no association between age and level of
investment awareness. They did find significant association between education level
and level of awareness. The study found no association between marital status and
awareness.
24. Suriya Murithi S, Narayanan B and Arivazhagan B (2012) carried out a study
to understand the investor’s preference towards different investment alternatives
available in the Indian market. Sample size was 100 respondents. Sampling method
used was convenience sampling. Questionnaire was used to collect the data from
respondents belonging to the city of Trichy. Simple percentage calculation,
correlation and chi square test was used to analyses the data. The two main reasons
for saving were for purchasing house and children’s education. Bank deposits was the
most preferred investment avenue followed by mutual funds, gold and post office
savings. Equity was the most avoided avenue of investment. Safety of the principal
was the top most priority for most of the investors followed by low risk. Women
investors were found to prefer low risk products irrespective of their educational
background. Before taking an investment decision, investors invariably consulted
their family and friends.
25. TamilKodi (1983) in her study found that small savings was preferred by
investors as it provided an opportunity for not only men and women but for children
to accumulate their savings. During her study period the geographical reach for other
savings product was limited. With the current trends the small savings may not find
the appeal it had earlier.

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26.Bajtelsmit, V.L, V.L, V.L and Jianakoplos.N.A. A (2001) carried out a study to
investigate the stock investing propensities of US households. They used the data as
reported in Survey of consumer Finance, 1998 released by Federal Reserve. The
sample size was 4305 households. For their analysis, the allocation by household in
financial assets only were considered. This brought down the sample size to 3070
households. Investment in stock in their study meant holding the stocks directly or
indirectly through mutual funds. Linear regression, and probity model were used for
analyzing the data. Majority of the households holding defined contribution plan held
investments in stocks. On an average, those households with stock holding are likely
to be older, more educated and more affluent.

27. Sundden and Surette (1998) with the help of data collected from 1992 and 1995
Surveys of Consumer Finances, tried to study whether demographic variables
influence investments. The survey sample size was 3906 in 1992 and 4299 in 1995.
The demographic variables used for the study were age, gender, marital status,
education level and the defined contribution plan towards retirement savings plan of
the respondent. The defined contribution of the respondents was classified into three
categories

1. Invested mostly in stocks

2. Invested mostly in interest bearing assets (bonds) and
3. Invested with a split between stocks and bonds (diversified).

Descriptive statistics and multinomial logic model were used to analyses the
investment behavior. The results demonstrated that it is not gender alone that
determines investment choice, rather investment decision in asset classes seems to be
drawn more by a combination of gender and marital status
William Warren (1990) used demographics and life style attributes to segment
individual investors. The sample size for the study was 152 respondents. Data was
collected using questionnaires which were mailed to households located in southern
metropolitan area in USA. The questionnaire captured the details about the types of
investments held, and the proportion of investments between stocks and bonds. Other
data gathered were gender, marital status, education, number of children. Life style
measures were gathered by asking 29 life style statements. Life style questions were
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based on agreement level on a scale of one to five. Based on the amount invested,
respondents were classified as light (investment of
$30,000 and less) and heavy (investment above $30,000) investors. Statistical tool
used was Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA) to determine the relationship
between investment pattern and demographic and lifestyle dimensions. His analysis
showed that there was a strong relationship between the marital status, number of
children, age and education level. He additionally found a relationship between the
life style characteristics of the respondents and the investment pattern.
Conclusion of Literature survey

Past research works reviewed were in the area of investments by individuals. Barring
few, majority of the research work taken up for review were carried out in the south
Indian cities and towns. Literature review helped in understanding the investment
pattern of individuals, financial products preferred, risk tolerance capability of
individuals and the variables used for the study. It also helped in identifying the
sampling techniques used for collecting data and the statistical tests used for testing
the hypotheses. It was illuminating to know findings of past researchers. Influence of
demographic variable on investment decision, investment pattern, financial product
preference, risk tolerance was the focus area of researchers. Barring four researchers,
Majority of the researchers considered both women and men in their studies. It was
observed that, studies related to women were focused on finding the Association
between demographic attributes and risk tolerance, liquidity, safety, product
awareness along with the identification of the most preferred investment avenue.
Majority of the Indian studies carried out used primary data. Use of a structured
questionnaire was the most common method for collecting data. Convenience
sampling was used by most of the researchers as far as Indian studies are concerned
whereas studies carried out in USA used the data of Survey of Consumer Finance
(SCF), released by Federal Reserve periodically. Demographic details collected by
most of the researchers were gender, age, marital status, educational background,
income level and family size. Data was collected about the Sector of employment,
nature of employment, frequency of investment, savings percentage.
The investment avenues covered in the questionnaires in most of the studies included
Bank deposits, Postal schemes, Life Insurance, Gold, Mutual funds, Equity and Real
estate.
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Studies conducted prior to 1995 had National savings schemes and Unit trust of India
Units as investment options. Chit fund as a savings instrument was there only in two
studies.
Questionnaire used in the current study covers all the above-mentioned avenues of
investments. There were different ways in which investors were classified by
researchers based on the focus of their research study. This knowledge was used in
creating a method of classifying investment pattern into three broad categories in the
current study.
Some common findings of the studies covered under literature review are:

• Investors preferred bank deposits in comparison to other mode of savings.

• In rural areas, investment in postal savings was common. Gold and property
were the most preferred physical assets.
• The major purpose of saving is Children’s education. Investors were risk
averse and were not willing to take risk.
• Investor although being educated were not preferring to invest in equities.
Mutual fund investment was popular only in major cities and awareness level
was poor in semi urban and rural areas.
• Newspapers and Magazines were the main source of information. Investors
consulted their family and friends before taking investment decisions.
• It was found that most of the studies covered both male and female
respondents as well as households in general.
• There was significant association between few demographic attributes like
age, marital status, educational back ground and income level and investment
pattern.
• Findings of many studies were comparable where as some studies contradicted
the findings of earlier studies.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1INTRODUCTION
Any discussion on financial Investments attracts attention of individuals. The
discussion can be between individuals or it can be an expert’s advice on the television
channel or internet or any other media of interest. It has been assumed that investment
is an area of men. Historically due to the culture prevalent in India and most of the
wage earners being the male members of the family, women were not involved in
investment related discussions and were not participating in the investment decision
making process.
Every government coming to power in India is promoting girl child education. With
the increase in the education level of women and job opportunities available, women
are finding more job opportunities in different sectors. Women by nature are savers
and with a continuous increase in the number of working women, the number of
women investors is on a rise. A study on the investment behavior and savings pattern
of employed women will of great interest to all those who are involved in research,
financial intermediaries and product creators. Findings of the research could help
product developers to create products meeting the needs of women especially the
employed women.
3.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aims at understanding the current investment pattern of employed women
based on the types of investment products held by them currently. Classification of
the investment pattern is based on the portfolio risk associated with the current
investments. Further the study will make an attempt to identify the association
between demographic attributes and the investment pattern of employed women.
Additionally, attempt will be made to understand the risk return perception of
different investment products and the financial literacy level of employed women.
3.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. This research study tries to cover the following objectives
2. To study the investment pattern of employed women.
3. To identify attributes that influence the investment pattern.
4. To study the financial literacy level and risk profiling of financial products.
5. To identify the type of financial products preferred by employed women.

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3.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
With the increase in the number of women investors and governments plan to push
savings for girl children, there is going to be a substantial increase in investments by
women.
Government has opened all women banks to bring more women into the banking
network, indicating the importance of savings by women. The study will be helpful to
find out the ideal investment options for women. These findings could be useful to the
financial product creators like banks, mutual fund houses, insurance companies,
portfolio managers and other market intermediaries, to understand what an employed
woman may be looking for, in a financial product while taking investment decisions.
Further research is carried out to analyses the investment pattern of women in areas of
Kalyan- Dombivli.
3.5SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Many research studies have been conducted in the area of investments and savings
habits of individuals and their preference for investment products based on the risk,
return and demographic attributes. A large body of literature is available on
investment pattern of individuals and comparisons have been made between the
investment pattern and preferences of men and women. In most of the studies, the
major respondents were male and the participation by women was low. Most of the
studies concentrated on men dominated world of investments. However, there is
dearth of research studies on the investment pattern of women especially those who
are employed and have their own source of income. An attempt is made to fill this
research gap and an attempt is made to fulfil the need for a study on the investment
pattern of employed women. As an extension of research, attempt will be made to
understand the nature of gold purchase and to ascertain if gold purchase is for
consumption or is for investment purpose. It will be interesting to know what women
do with their saving and where they invest the amount saved. Job opportunities for
women are on rise in the knowledge driven sectors. Women find better opportunities
in urban areas, especially in the metropolitan cities. There is a gradual rise in the
number of women who take investment seriously and if required engage professional
money managers. It will be of interest to study the investment pattern of employed
women based on the current investments held by them.

56 | P a g e
3.6RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study carried out is a descriptive research study. Descriptive research studies are
concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or of a group
or phenomena. The source of data for the study is the primary data collected from the
respondents using a structured questionnaire.
3.7SOURCES OF DATA

Primary data and secondary data were collected for present study.

Respondents of various age groups with different educational background and

employed in various sectors with varied experience level were approached to fill up
the questionnaire. The respondents were primarily employed in private, public and
government owned companies. Some business women and professionals were also
approached for the survey. Questionnaire was electronically mailed to those who
could not be personally reached and those who preferred the questionnaire in
electronic form. Other information was acquired with the help of research studies
previously conducted and through newspapers and journals.
3.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• In personal survey, chances of respondent’s bias are there. Chances of
researcher’s bias might have crept in during
Collection of data and while handling incomplete questionnaires.
• The study was restricted to the employed women from the Kaylan and
Dombivli. The findings of the study may not be generalized to the entire
population of employed women.
• The study is restricted to only employed women.
Enough care has been taken while processing, cleaning, editing and analyzing the
data, to minimize the impact of these limitations on the findings of the study.
3.9 SAMPLING SIZE

The research was conducted in the area of Kalyan and Dombivli in Mumbai. The
study was aimed at the Employed women residing in this area. The sample size of the
study is 150 respondents.

57 | P a g e
4. DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION

Q 1) WHAT IS YOUR AGE?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

20-30 58 87

30-40 23 34

40-50 10 15

ABOVE 50 9 14

AGE GROUP

9%
10% 20-30
30-40
40-50
23% 58%
ABOVE 50

INTERPRETATION:

58% OF THE WORKING WOMEN BELONG TO THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN

20 TO 30 YEARS.23% BELONG TO THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN 30 TO 40
YEARS AND 10% & 9% OF THE LADIES BELONG TO THE GROUP OF 40 TO
50 AND ABOVE 50 YEARS RESPECTIVELY.

58 | P a g e
Q 2) WHAT IS YOUR MARITAL STATUS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

MARRIED 72 108

UNMARRIED 28 42

MARITAL STATUS

28%

MARRIED

72%
UNMARRIED

INTERPRETATION:

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 108 OF THE WOMEN ARE MARRIED AND ONY
420 ARE UNMARRIED.

59 | P a g e
Q 3) HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE THERE IN YOUR FAMILY?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN 4 24 36
4-6 65 98
ABOVE 6 11 16

NO OF FAMIY MEMBERS

11%
65%

LESS THAN 4
24 %
4 - 6 MEMBERS
ABOVE 6

INTERPRETATION:

FROM THE 150 RESPONDENTS, 36 WOMEN HAVE LESS THAN 4 MEMBERS

IN THEIR FAMILY, 98 WOMEN HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS BETWEEN 4 TO 6
AND 16 WOMEN HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS ABOVE 6.

60 | P a g e
Q 4) WHAT IS YOUR INCOME PER MONTH?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN Rs 50,000 64 96
Rs 50,000 – Rs 1,00,000 25 38

ABOVE Rs 1,00,000 11 16

INCOME PER MONTH

11%

25%

64%

LESS THAN RS 50,000

RS 50,000 - RS 1,00,000
ABOVE 1,00,000

INTERPRETATION:

FROM THE 150 RESPONDENTS, 96 WOMEN’S INCOME ARE LESS THAN Rs

50,000 PER MONTH. 38 WOMEN HAVE THEIR INCOME BETWEEN Rs 50,000
TO Rs1, 00,000- AND 16-WOMEN’S INCOME ARE ABOVE Rs 1, 00,000 PER
MONTH.

61 | P a g e
Q 5) WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

SSC 8 12
GRADUATE 42 60
POST GRADUATE 28 42
PROFESSIONALS 22 33

EDUCATION

8%
22%

28%

42% SSC
GRADUA
TE
POST
GRADUATE
PROFESSIONALS

INTERPRETATION:
FROM THE ABOVE DIAGRAM, WE CAN SEE THAT 60% OF THE WOMEN
ARE GRADUATED, 42% OF THEM ARE POST GRADUATED, 33% OF THEM
ARE PROFESSIONALS & 12% OF THEM HAVE DONE THEIR SSC.

62 | P a g e
Q 6) WHAT IS THE LENGTH OF YOUR SERVICE?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN 10 YEARS 58 87

10 YEARS – 20 23 35
YEARS
20 YEARS – 30 YEARS 10 15

ABOVE 9 13
30 YEARS

LENGTH OF SERVICE
LESS THAN 10 YEARS
10-20 YEARS
20-30 YEARS
9% ABOVE 30 YEARS
10%

23% 58%

INTERPRETATION:

IN THE GROUP OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 58% OF WORKING WOMEN’S

LENGTH OF SERVICE IS LESS THAN 10 YEARS. 23% OF THEIR LENGTH OF
SERVICE IS BETWEEN 10 TO 20 YEARS, 10% OF THEIR LENGTH OF
SERVICE IS BETWEEN 20 TO 30 YEARS AND 9% OF THEIR LENGTH OF
SERVICE IS
ABOVE 30 YEARS.

63 | P a g e
Q 7) WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATIONAL STATUS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE COUNT

SALARIED 46 69
PROFESSIONALS 18 27
SELF EMPLOYED 29 44
OTHERS 07 10

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

7%

29% 46%

SALARIES
18%
PROFESSION
ALS’SELF
EMPLOYED
OTHERS

INTERPRETATION:
THE OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF THE 150 RESPONDENTS ARE, 69 OF
THEM ARE SALARIED, 44 OF THEM ARE SELF EMPLOYED, 27OF THEM
ARE PROFESSIONALS AND 10 OF THEM ARE DOING OTHER
OCCUPATION.

64 | P a g e
Q 8) WHAT IS YOUR APPROXIMATE ANNUAL SAVING?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN Rs 25,000 57 84
Rs 25,000 – Rs 50,000 20 30
Rs 50,000 – Rs 75,000 14 21
Rs 75,000 – Rs 1,00,000 6 9

ABOVE Rs 1,00,000 3 6

ANNUAL SAVINGS

3%

6%

LESS THAN Rs
14%
25,000Rs 25,000
- Rs 50,000
57%
Rs 50,000 - Rs
20%
75,000
Rs 75,000 - Rs
1,00,000
Above 1,00,000

INTERPRETATION:
THE ANNUAL SAVINGS OF THE 150 WORKING WOMEN ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
27% OF THEM SAVES LESS THAN Rs 25,000; 20% OF THEM SAVES
BEWTEEM Rs 25,000 AND Rs 50,000; 14% OF THEM SAVES BETWEEN Rs
50,000 AND Rs 75,000; 6% OF THEM SAVES BETWEEN Rs 75,000 AND Rs 1,
00,000 AND 3% OF THEM SAVES ABOVE Rs 1, 00,000.

65 | P a g e
Q 9) WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVATIONS FOR SAVING?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

TO MEET SPECIFIC PURPOSE 28 42

TO EARN INCOME 18 27
TO MEET CONTINGENT 10 15
EXPENSES

TO GET TAX 22 33
BENEFITS
TO BE SECURED AT OLD AGE 22 33

MOTIVATION FOR SAVINGS

22%
28%

TO MEET SPECIFIC
22% PURPOSETO EARN
18%
INCOME
10%
TO MEET CONTINGENT
EXPENSESTO GET TAX
BENEFITS
TO BE SECURED AT OLD AGE

INTERPRETATION:
THE MOTIVATION FOR SAVINGS FOR 150 RESPONDENTS ARE, 42 OF THE
WORKING WOMEN SAVE TO MEET SPECIFIC PURPOSE, 33 OF THEM SAVE
TO BE SECURED AT OLD AGE, ANOTHER 33 OF THEM SAVE TO GET TAX
BENEFITS, 27 OF THEM SAVE TO EARN INCOME, AND 15 OF THEM SAVE
TO MEET CONTINGENT EXPENSES.

66 | P a g e
Q 10) WHAT ARE THE FACTORS YOU CONSIDER FOR INCREASING
THE SIZE OF YOUR SAVINGS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

INCREASE IN SALARY 37 55

ADDITIONAL INCOME OR 17 25
INCENTIVES

STATUTORY 14 21
REQUIREMENTS
FUTURE NEEDS 25 38
TAX BENEFITS 7 11

FACTORS CONSIDERING FOR INCREASING

THE SIZE OF INVESTMENT

INCREASE IN SALARY
7%

ADDITIONAL INCOME OR
INCENTIVES

24% 36% STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

FUTURE NEEDS

17% 16% TAX BENEFITS

INTERPRETATION:
THE FACTORS CONSIDERED BY EMPLOYED WOMEN FOR INCREASING
THE SIZE OF INVESTMENT ARE, 36% OF THEM CONSIDER INCREASE IN
SALARY, 24% OF THEM CONSIDER FUTURE NEEDS, 17% OF THEM
CONSIDER STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, 16% OF THEM CONSIDER
ADDITIONAL INCOME OR INCENTIVES AND 7% OF THEM CONSIDER TAX
BENEFITS.

67 | P a g e
Q 11) HOW LONG DO YOU INVEST YOUR MONEY?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN 5 YEARS 62 93

5 – 10 YEARS 22 33
AVOVE 10 YEARS 16 24

PERIOD OF INVESTMENT

12%

23%

65%

LESS THAN 5
YEARS5 - 10
YEARS
ABOVE 10 YEARS

INTERPRETATION:

FROM THE 150 RESPONDENTS, 65% OF THE WORKING WOMEN INVESTS

FOR A PERIOD OF LESS THAN 5 YEARS, 23% OF THEM INVESTS FOR A
PERIOD OF 5 TO 10 YEARS AND 12% OF THEM INVESTS FOR A PERIOD OF
MORE THAN 10 YEARS.

68 | P a g e
Q 12) HOW MUCH SAVINGS DO YOU USE FOR YOURSELF?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LESS THAN 10 % 45 68
10 - 20% 15 22
20 – 30% 20 30
30 – 40% 15 22
ABOVE 40 % 5 8

PERCENTAGE OF SAVINGS USED ON OWN

SELF

5% LESS THAN 10%

10 - 20 %

15% 20 - 30 %
30 40 %
45%
ABOVE 40 %
20%

15%

INTERPRETATION:

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 68 WORKING WOMEN USE LESS THAN 10%

OF SAVINGS ON THEIR SELVES, 30 OF THEM USE ABOUT 20% TO 30% ON
THEMSELVES, 15 OF THEM USE 10% TO 20% FOR THEIR OWN. ANOTHER
15 USE 30% TO 40% FOR THEIR OWN AND 8 OF THEM USE ABOVE 40%
FOR
THEMSELVES.

69 | P a g e
Q 13) WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU PREFER TO INVEST?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

BANK DEPOSITS 45 68
INVESTMENT IN SHARES 15 22
& SECURITIES

INVESTMENT IN GOLD 25 38

OTHERS 15 22

PREFERANCE OF INVESTMENT

BANK DEPOSITS
15%
INVESTMENT IN
SHARES &SECURITIES
45%
INVESTMENT IN GOLD
25%

OTHERS

15%

INTERPRETATION:

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 45% OF WORKING WOMEN PREFER TO

INVEST IN BANK DEPOSITS, 25% OF WORKING WOMEN PREFER TO
INVEST IN GOLD, 15% OF THEM PREFER TO INVEST IN SHARES &
SECURITIES AND
THE OTHER 15% PREFER TO INVEST IN OTHER KINDS OF INVESTMENTS.

70 | P a g e
Q 14) DO YOU PREFER TO EXPLORE THE INVESTMENT PATTERNS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

YES 84 126
NO 16 24

PREFERANCE TO EXPLORE THE INVESTMENT

PATTERNS

20%

YES
NO

80%

INTERPRETATION:

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 126 WORKING WOMEN PREFER TO EXPLORE

THE INVESTMENT PATTERENS AND 24 DOESN’T PREFER TO EXPORE THE
SAME.

71 | P a g e
Q 15) DO YOU PREFER INVESTMENTS INVOLVING HIGH RISKS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

YES 72 108
NO 28 42

PREFERANCE OVER INVESTMENTS

INVOLVING HIGH RISKS

28%
YES
NO

72%

INTERPRETATION:

IN A GROUP OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 108 WORKING WOMEN PREFER

INVESTMENTS INVOLVING HIGH RISKS AND42 PREFER INVESTMENT
WITHOUT MUCH RISKS.

72 | P a g e
Q 16) FROM WHERE DO YOU RECEIVE INFORMATIONS FOR
INVESTMENTS?
OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT
TV & RADIO 36 54
ORGANIZATIONAL REPORTS 16 24
FAMILY MEMBERS 23 35
& COLEAGUES
JOURNAS & MAGAZINES 15 22

AGENTS &ADVISORS 10 15

SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT

INVESTMENT

10% TV & RADIO

ORGANIZATIONAL
15% 36%
REPORTS
FAMIY MEMBERS &
COLLEAGUES
23% JOURNALS &
16%
MAGAZINESAGENTS &
ADVISORS

INTERPRETATION:
FROM THE ABOVE DIAGRAM IT IS SEEN THAT 36% OF THE WORKING
WOMEN GET THEIR INFORMATIONS FROM TV & RADIO, 16% OF THEM
GETS THE INFORMATION FROM ORGANIZATIONAL REPORTS, 23% OF
THEM GETS THEIR INFORMATION FROM FAMILY MEMBERS &
COLLEAGUES, 15% OF THEM GETS THE INFORMATION FROM JOURNALS
& MAGAZINES AND 10% OF THEM GETS THE INFORMATION FROM
AGENTS & ADVISORS.

73 | P a g e
Q 17) WHOSE ADVICE DO YOU TAKE WHILE INVESTING?
OPTIONS PERCENTAGE COUNT
HUSBAND & FAMIY 24 36
MEMBERS
FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES 16 24

SELF DECISION 37 56
FINANCIAL ADVISORS 13 19

COMPANY AGENTS 10 15

SUGGESTIONS ON INVESTMENT

13%
23%
12%

16% HUSBAND & FAMILY

MEMBERSFRIENDS &
36%
COLLEAGUES
SELF DECISION
FINANCIAL
ADVISORS
COMPANY
AGENTS

INTERPRETATION:

FROM THE ABOVE DIAGRAM WE CAN SEE THAT 37% OF WORKING

WOMEN MAKES THEIR OWN DECISION FOR INVESTMENT, 24% OF THEM
GETS SUGGESTIONS FROM THEIR HUSBAND & FAMILY MEMBERS, 16%
OF THEM GETS SUGGESTIONS FROM FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES, 13% OF
THEM GETS SUGGESTIONS FROM COMPANY AGENTS AND 12% GETS
HELP FROM FINANCIAL ADVISORS.

74 | P a g e
Q 18) WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES DO YOU
RECOMMENDTO CREATE AWARENESS AMONG WORKING WOMEN
ABOUT INVESTMENTS?
OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT
TRAINING PROGRAMMES 12 18

WORKSHOP & SEMINAR 12 18

SOCIA WELFARE PROGRAM 35 52
ADVERTISEMENT 25 38
INVESTORS’ MEET 16 24

RECOMMENDATIONS ON CREATING
AWARENESS AMONG WORKING WOMEN ON
INVESTMENTS

16% 12% TRAINING PROGRAMMES

WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS
12%
SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM
25%
ADVERTISEMENT

35% INVESTORS' MEET

INTERPRETATION:
THE 150 RESPONDENTS HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON CREATING
AWARENESS AMONG WORKING WOMEN ON INVESTMENTS. 52 OF THEM
SUGGESTS SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM, 38 OF THEM SUGGESTS
ADVERTISEMENT, 24 OF THEM SUGGESTS INVESTORS’ MEET, 18 OF
THEM SUGGESTS WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS AND THE OTHER 12
SUGGESTS
TRAINING PROGRAMMES.

75 | P a g e
Q 19) DO YOU INVEST IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SCHEME
SPECIALLY MEANT FOR WOMEN?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

LIC’S JEEVAN BHARATHI 25 38
SBI BHAGYA REKHA DEPOSITS 15 22
POST OFFICE RD SCHEMES 34 51
LIC’S NEE JANARAKSHA PLAN 11 17

OTHERS 15 22

INVESTMENT AMONG THE FOLLOWING

SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR WOMEN

LIC'S JEEVAN BHARATHI

15%
25% SBI BHAGYA REKHA

11% DEPOSITSPOST OFFICE

RD SCHEMES LIC'S NEE

15% JANARAKSHA PLAN

OTHERS
34%

INTERPRETATION:
THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPE OF SPECIAL INVESTMENT SCHEMES FOR
WOMEN. THE 150 RESPONDENTS HAVE ALSO INVESTMENT IN SOME OF
THEM. 34% OF THEM HAVE INVESTED IN POST OFFICE RD SCHEMES, 25%
OF THEM HAVE INVESTED IN LIC’S JEEVAN BHARATHI, 15% OF THEM
HAVE INVESTED IN SBI BHAGYA REKHA DEPOSITS, 11% OF THEM HAVE
INVESTED IN LIC’S NEE JANARAKSHA PLAN AND 15% OF THEM HAVE
INVESTED IN OTHER SUCH SCHEMES.

76 | P a g e
Q 20) WHAT TYPE OF INVESTMENT PLAN DO YOU PREFER IN
FUTURE?
OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT
REGUAR RETURN PLAN 15 23
PENSION PLAN 24 36
MULTIPLE OPTION PLAN 11 17
MEDICAL PLAN 34 51
SPECIFIC PURPOSE PLAN 15 23

PREFERANCE ON TYPE OF INVESTMENT OLAN

15% 15%

25%
34% REGUAR RETURN PLAN
PENSION PLAN
11% MUTIPE OPTION PAN
MEDICA PLAN
SPECIFIC PURPOSE PLAN

INTERPRETATION:
FROM THE ABOVE GRAPH, WE CAN SEE THAT 25% OF EMPLOYED
WOMEN PREFER INVESTMENT ON PENSION PLAN, 34% PREFER
INVESTMENT ON MEDICAL PLAN, 15% PREFER ONVESTMENT ON
REGULAR RETURN PLAN, ANOTHER 15% PREFER INVESTMENT ON
SPECIFIC PURPOSE PLAN & 11% PREFER INVESTMENT ON MULTIPLE
OPTION PLAN.
77 | P a g e
Q 21) DO YOU THINK THE EXISTING INVESTMENT SCHEMES ARE
ADEQUATE OR COMPREHENSIVE?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

SUFFICIENT 60 90
MORE THAN SUFFICIENT 25 38

LESS THAN SUFFICIENT 15 22

COMPREHENSIVENESS ON EXISTING
INVESTMENT SCHEMES

15%

SUFFICIENT
MORE THAN SUFFICIENT
25%
60%
LESS THAN SUFFICIENT

INTERPRETATION:

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 60% HAVE SUFFICIENT

COMPREHENSIVENESS ON EXISTING INVESTMENT SCHEMES, 25% HAVE
SUFFICIENT COMPREHENSIVENESS ON EXISTING INVESTMENT
SCHEMES & 15% HAVE SUFFICIENT COMPREHENSIVENESS ON EXISTING
INVESTMENT SCHEMES.

78 | P a g e
Q 22) ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH PRESENT INVESTMENT PATTERNS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE COUNT

%
SATISFIED 40 60
LESS THAN SATISFIED 20 30
MODERATELY SATISFIED 25 38
MORE THAN SATISFIED 15 22

SATISFACTION ON CURRENT INVESTMENT

PATTERN

15%

40%

25% SATISFIED
LESS THAN SATISFIED

20% MODERATELY SATISFIED

MORE THAN SATISFIED

INTERPRETATION:
FROM THE ABOVE DIAGRAM, WE CAN SEE THAT 40% OF WORKING
WOMEN ARE SATISFIED WITH THE PRESENT INVESTMENT PATTERNS,
25% OF THEM ARE MODERATELY SATISFIED, 20% OF THEM ARE
MODERATELY SATISFIED AND 15% OF THEM ARE MORE THAN
SATISFIED.

79 | P a g e
Q 23) DO YOU WANT ANY SPECIAL SCHEMES TO MEET YOUR NEEDS?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

YES 67 100
NO 33 50

NEED FOR SPECIAL SCHEMES

33%
YES
NO
67%

INTERPRETATION:

FROM THE 150 RESPONDENTS, 100 WOMEN FEEL THE NEED FOR SPECIA
SCHEMES FOR MEETING THEIR NEEDS AND 50 OF THEM DOES NOT NEED
ANY KIND OF SPECIAL SCHEMES.

80 | P a g e
Q 24) WHICH OF THESE SPECIAL PROVISIONS DO YOU NEED TO
BOOST UP YOUR INVESTMENTS?
OPTIONS PERCENTAGE COUNT
%
EXTRA INCENTIVES 20 30
ADDITIONAL BONUS 25 38
HIGH RATE OF INTEREST 15 22
TAX CONSESSION 10 15
HIGH RETIREMENT BENEFITS 30 45

SPECIAL PROVISIONS TO BOOST UP

INVESTMENTS EXTRA INCENTIVES
ADDITIONAL BONUS
HIGH RATE OF
INTERESTTAX

20% CONCESSION
30% HIGH RETIREMENT BENEFITS

25%
10%
15%

INTERPRETATION:

SPECIAL PROVISIONS ARE NEEDED TO BOOST UP THE INVESTMENTS,

OUT OF 150 RESPONDENTS, 30% SAYS HIGH RETIREMENT BENEFITS, 25%
SAYS ADDITIONAL BONUS, 20% SAYS EXTRA INCENTIVES, 15% SAYS
HIGH RATE OF INTEREST AND 10% SAYS TAX CONCESSION.

81 | P a g e
Q 25) WHAT SUGGESTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUGGEST FOR
POPULARIZING SAVINGS & INVESTMENT PATTERNS AMONG
WORKING WOMEN?

OPTIONS PERCENTAGE % COUNT

SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR WORKING 20 30
WOMEN
OFFERING ADDITIONAL BONUS 15 22

ADDITIONAL TAX INCENTIVES 10 15

OFFERING SPECIFIC SCHEME FOR 35 53

CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

ATTRACTIVE PENSION SCHEME 20 30

SUGGESTIONS FOR POPULARIZING SAVINGS &

INVESTMENT PATTERN AMONG WOMEN
SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR
WORKINGWOMEN
OFFERING ADDITIONAL BONUS
20% 20%
ADDITIONAL TAX INCENTIVES
15%
OFFERING SCHEMES FOR
35% 10% CHIDREN'SEDUCATION
ATTRACTIVE PENSION PLAN

INTERPRETATION:
THE SUGGESTIONS GIVEN BY THE 150 RESPONDENTS TO POPUARIZE
THE INVESTMENT SCHEMES ARE, 35% OF THEM SAYS OFFERING
SCHEMES FOR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION,40% OF THEM ARE EQUALLY
SAYING NOTH ATTRACTIVE PENSION PLAN &SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR
WORKING WOMEN. 10%&15% OF THEM ARE SAYING ADDITIONAL TAX
INCENTIVES & OFFERING ADDITIONAL BONUS RESPECTIVELY.

82 | P a g e
 FINDINGS
➢ The Research study has revealed that almost 57% of employed women saves
at least Rs 25,000 annually.
➢ Though only about 10% of their savings they use on their own selves. 45% of
women prefer to invest on bank deposits and about 25% prefer to invest in
gold. Only few of the employed women prefer to invest in shares, securities
and others.
➢ 84% of working women likes to explore the investment patterns and 72%
women prefers to invest involving high risks.
➢ Many of them get the information about investments from TV & Radio or
from their family members.
➢ Majority of the employed women take their own decision regarding
investments while some take advice from their husband and other family
members.
➢ Many of them suggests on creating awareness about investments on working
women by social welfare programmers, Advertisement and Investors ‘meet.
➢ Investment in special scheme like LIC’s Jeevan Bharathi or Post office RD
schemes are done by employed women.
➢ In future, employed women prefer the type of investments like Medical Plan,
Pension plan, etc.
➢ 60% of working women think that the existing investment schemes are
sufficiently adequate. More than 40% of employed women are satisfied with
the existing investment patterns.
➢ 67% of women feel the need of special schemes to meet their needs.
➢ Special provisions like High Retirement Benefits, Additional Bonus, and Extra
Incentives are needed by working women to boost up the investments.
➢ Extra benefits like Offering Specific Scheme for Children’s Education,
Attractive Pension Scheme and other special schemes for working women are
expected by them to popularize the Investment schemes.
➢ Investment decisions of individuals are driven by multiple factors and it was
found that the financial literacy level of employed Women was low. Of
women by conducting training programs and workshops on regular basis
either independently or through their employers.

83 | P a g e
 CONCLUSIONS
Individuals at some stage of their life get involved in investing their savings. There is
a continuous increase in the number of educated employed women. There is increase
in the job opportunities for qualified women in many sectors led by the software,
banking and financial services and the education sector.
Count of employed women having independent source of income is increasing year
on year, leading to increase in savings by women. Women by nature are savers and
invest their savings into wide range of financial products and physical assets.
Market participants are also realizing the importance of the rapid increase in the
number of women investors and are gearing up to meet their demands related to
investments and allied services. It will useful to know about the financial and physical
assets held by employed women in order to assess their needs and preferences.
Women are familiar with traditional investment products like bank deposits, insurance
and postal savings products. Awareness about Postal schemes was high but
investment by respondents is low, indicating that urban employed women have lost
interest in postal savings. As most of the women are tech savvy and use internet for
transactions, the lack of such facility by postal department could be one of the reasons
for lack of interest in postal savings schemes by urban women.
It was found that awareness level about Bank deposits, Insurance and postal savings
was very high and awareness about commodities market awareness was very poor.
Study revealed that the most popular investments held by the respondents was bank
deposits, insurance, provident fund, gold jewelry and mutual funds. Few Employed
women avoided investments in commodities and equities as they considered them to
be highly risky.
Since this research has been conducted on the women investors and a study of their
investment behavior, it is important to understand the different types of investors.
Women Investors have their own investing styles: some are risk takers by nature,
willing to gamble large amounts of money on highly speculative investments others
prefer the safety and security of cash in the bank even if it means that the actual
buying power of their money is slowly dwindling because of inflation.
Most people fall somewhere in between these extremes, and are willing to assume
some risk, with the expectation that they’ll be rewarded with higher returns.

84 | P a g e
With a growing divorce rate, the number of single mothers is on the rise. Providing
for and raising a family, while also saving for college and retirement, can be a
daunting task. One way to help ensure that you have enough savings is to invest a
small amount regularly through a systematic investment plan.
Main purpose of investment for employed women is children’s education and
marriage
Women investor’s preferences are showing the willingness to invest in a particular or
a set of assets in the present situation. The Indian capital market has proved a fertile
ground for investors to make money. As a matter of fact, a great public enhancement
with paper assets has begun during 1980s. Of late, the investor’s preference seems to
have shifted from equity to debt capital. The investor’s preference may significantly
differ according to their location. The rural and urban background of the investors
may lead to the investor’s preference among the various choices.

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 SUGGESTIONS

✶ Investment decisions of individuals are driven by multiple Factors and it was

found that the financial literacy level of employed Women was low. It is
suggested that the financial product creators, marketers and regulators should
try to increase the financial literacy level of women by conducting training
programs and workshops on regular basis either independently or through their
employers.
✶ Government should make available more tax savings products in order to
reduce concentration of savings in Life Insurance and Provident fund.
✶ Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) should create
more awareness about National Pension System (NPS) so that more people
will be motivated to think about retirement planning among employed women.
✶ Women should be encouraged to invest in more avenues and participate in the
investment avenues which involves high risks and also high returns.
✶ Women should focus in making a formal financial plan to have a focus on the
financial goals.
✶ Women should increase their awareness level of the portfolio diversification to
spread their risks.
✶ Women should recognize their financial independence and plan for the future
to make it better.
✶ Government should start more innovative projects like ‘Mahila Bank’
where it will be easier for women to make their investments.
✶ Awareness about various investment avenues must be made with their relative
merits & demerits. Investment guidelines must be made known to every
individual through their organizations.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.amfiindia.com
www.bseindia.comm
www.mutualfundsindia.com
www.india.gov.in/nsso-reports
www.mcxindia.com
www.mospi.nic.in
www.ncaer.org
www.nhb.gov.in
www.nism.ac.in
www.nseindia.com
www.rbi.org

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