Proud moment! India is No.1! Money-wise Indian affluent consumers are the savviest in Asia
India is Asia's most investment savvy economy and more than two-thirds of the country's affluent class prefer to use various investment products to achieve their financial goals and greater social mobility, said a new Standard Chartered study conducted on 11,000 emerging affluent consumers across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The Emerging Affluent Study 2018, Climbing the Prosperity Ladder, examines the views of emerging affluent consumers-individuals who are earning enough to save and invest, from 11 markets across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
According to the new study, 68 per cent of Indians belonging to this segment are using investment products to achieve their financial goals, as compared to an average figure of 57 per cent.
Investment products, under the study, refer to fixed income investments, stocks, equities, mutual funds, unit trusts, investment-linked insurance, self-invested pension funds, real estate investment trusts (REIT) and real estate property funds.
The number one financial goal for India's emerging affluent is saving towards their children's education which is also the top savings priority across the markets in the study.
"It is exciting to see that social mobility is booming among the emerging affluent, and that they are outstripping their parents' success in education, careers and home ownership," said Shyamal Saxena, Head - Retail Banking, India, Standard Chartered Bank, adding "digital financial products are enabling the emerging affluent to achieve their goals, and these tools will be crucial in helping them take their personal financial success to the next level".
31% of emerging affluent is selecting mutual funds, a quarter (25%) choosing fixed income investments and 22% equity investments. All figures are higher than the average in the study, which is 16%, 19% and 18%, respectively.