Six out of 10 Indians rely on financial advisors to make their investment decisions, shows a recent study called ‘DSP BlackRock India Investor Pulse Survey’ done by Cicero Research.
The online survey was carried out across 22 locations which surveyed 1,500 respondents in the age group of 25-74 years who are primarily urban and financially aware. These respondents were a mix of retail and affluent investors. The survey provides insights into how investors deal with their life decisions and approach their finances.
Around 58% of respondents say that they use the services of professional financial advisors to make investment decisions. While 52% of men rely on IFAs for investments, an overwhelming majority of 65% women use services of IFAs to make their investment decisions. Aditi Kothari Desai, Head – Sales and Marketing, DSP BlackRock MF believes that IFAs should target women investors as this segment is still untapped. “Most distributors have a predominantly male clientele. However, they should keep in mind that Indian women now constitute 50% of the population. Therefore, they provide a lot of opportunity for IFAs to grow business.”
Of those using services of IFAs, 77% investors trust their advisors completely. These people have greater degree of reliance on their financial advisors to make their investment decisions. Similarly, 22% of such investors have some degree of trust on their financial advisors. Only a small 1% people don’t trust their advisors to make any investment decisions.
Another key finding of this report is the extent of satisfaction with the services of financial advisors. The survey reveals that 99% are completely satisfied with the services of their advisors.
The study says that Indian respondents are the highest consumers of financial advice in the world. Satisfaction and reliance on professional financial advice is also high in India, added the report.
