Financial security plays an important role in a household’s overall well-being by lessening anxiety about the future and furnishing the means to fulfill aspirations. Saving is the preferred route to financial security in India. Official data shows the average household in the country saves Rs 18-20 of every Rs 100 earned. However, Indians falter when it comes to investing, or channeling savings into assets that could give returns higher than the rate of inflation for long-term wealth creation.
“Indians lack the ability to plan for reaching their financial goals,” Mukund Seshadri, a Mumbai-based mutual fund distributor (MFD), told TOI. They know about the various financial assets, but they lack the ability to map those assets to their financial plans, he added. Instead, most approach investment in a haphazard manner. For example, “when the stock market is going up, they rush to invest in stocks. And when it’s not doing well, they rush to put their money in debt.”