How Indian investors’ portfolios are changing: From property and gold to SIPs and ETFs
Indian households are re-evaluating their asset allocations as gold holdings rise and equity investments remain stable. Recent data reveals a significant increase in household wealth, particularly in gold and real estate. Households are moving fro...
For most Indian families, investment began at home— literally. The family house, a piece of inherited jewellery, a fixed deposit at the local bank and, perhaps, a life insurance policy bought more out of obligation than strategy. This was not a portfolio built by design; it was one assembled by custom.
The September 2026 edition of ‘D-Kode Monthly Outlook’ by Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund confirms how deep this tradition runs. According to the report, during March 2023, real estate accounted for 51.3% of estimated Indian household assets, gold for 15.4%, bank deposits for 14.1%, and equities for just 5.6%. The total household assets stood at $11.3 trillion.
These numbers reflect how Indian households historically thought about money: property as permanence, gold as security, bank deposits as liquidity, and insurance as protection. Equities were, at best, an afterthought.
“The biggest change is the move from saving to investing. Households added Rs.42.9 trillion to financial assets in 2025-26, up about 13%, and more is flowing into the markets,” says Rajani Tandale, Partner, 1 Finance.
That distinction, between net worth and accessible wealth, is the invisible tension running through the Indian household balance sheet.
Shift in Indian household asset allocation
Household wealth accretion in Indian equities
The great reshuffle
Three years on, the balance sheet looks different. By March this year, the total estimated household assets had grown to $16 trillion. But the more striking change is in the composition. Gold’s share rose from 15.4% to 24.2%. Property fell from 51.3% to 47.6%. Bank deposits declined from 14.1% to 11.2%. Equities barely moved, from 5.6% to 5.7%. On the surface, this looks like a story about gold’s comeback.
However, Vijay Kuppa, CEO of InCred Money, warns against reading too much into the headline numbers. “A substantial part of the increase appears to be attributable to price appreciation, although the precise contribution depends on the period measured and the methodology used,” he says.
Global brokerage Jefferies estimates that Indian households held nearly 25,000 tonnes of gold as of March 2026, valued at around $3.9 trillion, up from $2 trillion in March 2023. Meanwhile, the nation’s annual gold consumption in volume terms has largely remained range-bound. “This distinction matters because a rising gold allocation can be a valuation effect rather than a conscious portfolio decision. A household that bought gold years ago may now have a significantly larger gold allocation without investing another rupee,” it adds.
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The equity chart tells a complementary story. Household wealth accretion data from the Economic Survey 2025-26 shows Rs.53 trillion of equity wealth added over a multi-year period—with 2023-24 alone contributing Rs.20 trillion, followed by Rs.7 trillion each in 2024 25 and H1 2025-26. Yet, equities’ share of total household assets has barely moved.
The two charts (see graphics) measure different things—the first measures equities as a proportion of all household assets, the second tracks changes in equity wealth. Together, they point to the same conclusion: a rising asset value can reshape the household balance sheet without an equivalent change in investor behaviour.
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Changing ‘how’, not just ‘what’
Apart from the asset ownership data, a shift in behaviour and habit is visible.
Tandale’s data on systematic investment plan (SIP) flows captures this well. Monthly SIP contributions rose from `10,519 crore in October 2021 to a record Rs.32,490 crore in September 2026—roughly, a threefold increase in five years. “Equity, held mainly through mutual funds and SIPs, has taken a far bigger slice. SIPs have turned equity from an occasional bet into a monthly habit. Many first-time investors now hold equity before they hold any debt product,” she says.
The same evolution is visible in gold. As Tandale notes, “Gold ETFs (exchange-traded funds) have replaced a good part of jewellery buying as the preferred way to own gold, especially after its sharp rally.” A physical asset is increasingly being held through a financial wrapper—easier to buy, easier to sell, cheaper to store.
However, participation is not the same as portfolio quality. Shridatta Bhandwaldar, Chief Investment Officer–Equities at Canara Robeco Asset Management, flags a pattern worth watching: “Indian investors have been shifting larger asset allocations towards mid/small caps, precious metals, IPOs (initial public offers) and narrow the matics over the past two to three years.”
In terms of sectors, he says, “The allocation has meaningfully gone up to industrials—renewables, defence, AI (artificial intelligence) ancillaries, aerospace, preci sion engineering—auto ancillaries, CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) and platform companies. On the other hand, investors have reduced exposure to traditional sectors like financials, cement, auto OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), consumer durables, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and metals.”
Gaurav Misra, Head–Equity at Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, adds another dimension. “Given that the recent money inflows have been continually in the small-cap and mid-cap offerings, investors might have built a disproportionate exposure to sectors such as chemicals, agriculture, textiles, capital markets, capital goods, hotels and hospitals/diagnostics. Conversely, the exposure in aggregate might be lesser to stocks in the large-cap private banks, metals and even large-cap IT names.”
There is also the question of crypto. Minal Thukral, Executive Vice President and Crypto Business Head at CoinDCX, points to a maturing of investor behaviour in digital assets. Bitcoin’s share of trading volume on CoinDCX rose to 22.43% in H1 2026, from 16.7% in H1 2025, while meme tokens fell from 27.5% to 12.17% of trading volume.
“We are seeing a shift in the investor pro file. The 30-45 age group increased its share of CoinDCX’s investor base from 36% to 38% in H1 2026, while the average investor age rose to 30-31 years,” she says. “The more significant change is in how investors evaluate crypto: increasingly, through diversification, asset fundamentals and longer-term investment horizons,” she adds.
Harshad Patwardhan, Chief Investment Officer at Union Mutual Fund, points to a structural risk embedded in how portfolios have been built. “Given the competitive nature of the mutual fund industry and the unfortunate focus on short-term performance among some market participants, fund managers are often compelled to increase allocations to sectors, themes and stocks that have recently outperformed. This may inadvertently result in investors accumulating a higher exposure than warranted to the most popular sectors and themes of the period.”
Ankur Punj, MD, Equirus Wealth, highlights the overlap problem: “An investor may hold five mutual funds, but have a significant overlap in their largest holdings, sec tors and investment styles. During a broad equity correction, these portfolios can fall together.” Echoing the sentiment, Tandale says, “Fund clutter is the most visible symp tom. Many investors hold 15-25 overlapping schemes when two or three would do.”
Composition of annual financial savings
Building for ‘what’s next’
The past several years rewarded a fairly simple playbook: buy Indian equities, espe cially in the smaller segments, hold gold, and keep adding through SIPs. The next decade may not be so straightforward.
Tandale notes, “Many also overestimate active funds. The SPIVA (S&P Indices vs Active) India Scorecard (June 2026) shows that 74-82% of large-cap, ELSS (equity-linked savings scheme) and mid-/small-cap funds trailed their benchmarks over 10 years, largely because of costs. Chasing past winners rarely works either.”
Four adjustments stand out in experts’ views. The first is rebalancing rather than return-chasing. As Punj puts it, “If equi ties rise to 60% of the portfolio, the investor should review whether the additional exposure is justified. If it exceeds their risk budget, trimming some equity exposure and redirecting proceeds to underweight assets may be appropriate.” The same applies to gold. Kuppa advises, “If gold’s share has ris en above the intended allocation, investors should consider whether to rebalance. For a diversified financial portfolio, an allocation of around 5-10% to gold can be a reasonable starting point. Beyond 10-15%, the case for additional gold exposure should be exam ined more carefully.”
The second is giving debt a more meaningful role. Misra sees it as a structural neces sity, given the current environment: “With huge challenges from across the world, uncertainty and volatility are rife and expected to continue. In recent times, we have witnessed pandemics, wars and trade wars. There is a need to have a diversified asset allocation—some assets provide the best power from long-term compounding, albeit with volatility, others provide a negative cor relation within the portfolio, and a few others offer liquidity with assured returns.”
The third is looking beyond domestic equities. On the broader direction, Mukesh Pandey, Founder and MD of Rupyaapaisa, says, “Equities, index funds, ETFs, bonds and international investments will likely gain prominence as financial awareness deepens.” Tandale points to global equity, real estate investment trusts and infrastructure investment trusts, as well as alternative assets like P2P lending as meaningful additions for the right investor, though each comes with its own costs and risks.
The fourth, and perhaps the most important, is thinking at the household level rather than the portfolio level. Punj identi fies this as the real gap in how most Indians plan. “A household may have substantial net worth, but limited liquid assets because most of its wealth is tied up in property or a family business. That distinction is particularly important in India, where physical assets continue to play a dominant role in household wealth,” he says. He recommends maintaining two complementary views: “A financial investment portfolio for managing market exposure and a consolidated household balance sheet for managing overall wealth, concentration and liquidity risk.”
The texture that matters
This Diwali, the temptation will be familiar: check what has done well, and buy more of it. Gold has had a remarkable run, until recently Mid-cap and small-cap funds gave strong multi-year returns. Crypto is maturing. Each of these looks attrac tive in the rear-view mirror. But the more productive question is not what has gone up. It is whether the household’s wealth, in its entirety, including property, gold, business interests, financial investments and liabilities, is positioned to meet its future needs. Pandey frames the forward direction: “Diversification will increasingly mean spreading risk across asset classes, geographies, sectors and investment strategies, rather than simply holding multiple products.”
A portfolio’s progress should not be measured only by how much wealth it has accumulated, but also by how well that wealth is positioned to meet the household’s future needs.
