Sudden health crisis across the world has made investors realise the importance of financial planning and emergency funds.
The recent Scripbox survey on wealth and well being shows that at a time when economic anxiety is increasing, an overwhelming 90% Indians identify financial health as having a profound impact on their well-being.
In fact, majority of respondents i.e. 54% said that creating an emergency corpus is their top most financial goal. This was followed by children education (46%) and retirement (43%).
The survey was conducted to understand investor behaviour and sentiment during Covid-19 pandemic. Here are some key findings of the survey:
- 50% respondents save between 1% and 20% a month, 20% between 20% and 30% of their income a month
- Majority of Indian prefer fixed income products like PPF, LIC, FDs, RDs and so on. Just one in four respondents invests in mutual funds
- Compared to women, men view investments such as MFs, shares and stocks more favourably. Among men, 2 in 3 continued to stay invested in equity markets during the pandemic, whereas less than 1 in 3 women respondents continued to do so
- Interestingly, millennials (those under 35 years of age) are far more likely to let their savings lie idle in their bank accounts than those over 35 years
- Given the correlation between wealth and well-being, nearly 50% of respondents would like to advise their younger generation to start investing early
- Despite the general environment, there is optimism of the economy recovering within a year and continuing on the same growth trajectory as in pre-Covid times. Men are more optimistic about the economy getting back on track within a year (54%) compared to women (41%)
Prateek Mehta, Co-founder and CBO at Scripbox said, “A majority of Indians continue to squirrel away their savings in tax saving instruments or letting it lie idle in their bank accounts. Understanding financial goals and picking instruments that help compound wealth over the long-term is key to avoiding regret. This is confirmed by a majority of respondents whose advice to their younger self is to start investing as early as possible.”
Scripbox polled more than 630 respondents in the age bracket of 25 - 55 years. An equal number of men and women responded to the survey.
