Karvy’s India Wealth Report 2015: Equity scores over gold

In a reversal of fortunes for financial and physical savings instruments in India, the former cornered a larger share of individual investments in 2014-15. According to Karvy’s India Wealth Report 2015, the total individual wealth in financial assets increased from Rs 134.7 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 160.5 lakh crore in 2014-15, a growth of 19%. Karvy Private Wealth forecasts that this will double to Rs 326 lakh crore in the next 5 years.

Traditionally, Indians prefer to invest in assets with touch-and-feel factor like property and gold. However, in 2015, financial savings accounted for over 57% of total assets worth in India, with physical assets making up the balance. “This suggests a new growing India, where apart from economic growth, people see value in investing their hard earned money in more liquid and return oriented assets,” the report noted.



Within the financial savings category, direct equity, which saw a growth of nearly 30% over the last financial year, led the pack, cornering a 21.4% share. Individual wealth in physical assets actually decreased by 2.3 % to Rs 119 lakh crore due to negative growth in gold, silver and platinum and a sluggish real estate market.

As far as fresh investments were concerned, in 2015, 54% of household savings were invested in financial assets, while 46% went to physical assets. In the previous year, the trend was completely opposite with physical assets accounting for 65% of fresh investments.

Indians have traditionally invested in insurance as an investment and protection option. Assets in insurance account for 14.7% of the total financial individual wealth in India. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 13%.