(Reuters) -Only about 9.5% of India’s households have investments in securities such as equities and mutual funds, while majority prefer preserving capital over risky assets that can give high returns, a survey by the country’s markets regulator showed.
The survey of nearly 92,000 households by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, market research firm Kantar and other institutions showed 80% of households have a low risk tolerance and prioritize capital preservation.
The new data, released on Tuesday, underscores the low penetration of securities market products in the country, which have been highlighted by reports previously.
Awareness and penetration is rising, especially in urban areas, where 15% of households have investments in securities markets products, according to the report. In the top 9 metros, the figure stands at 23%.
Across India, the penetration of mutual funds stood at 6.7%, while that of stocks was 5.3%. Less than 1% had investments in futures and options, corporate bonds and other assets.
Among those that did not have such investments, more than half were aware of securities market products, of which 22% of households intended to invest in the future, the report said.
This “signals strong opportunity to expand the investor base,” the report added.
Key barriers to investment were complexity, gaps in access to information and fear of losing money among non-investors, the survey said.
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
