Women fund managers in the mutual fund industry have achieved a feat worth recommending in the last five years. According to Morningstar’s “Women in the Indian Mutual Fund Industry—2023” report, 42 of the total 428 mutual fund managers in India till January 2023 were women, who are managing funds either as primary or secondary managers. These women fund managers were managing total assets worth approximately Rs 4.43 lakh crores, which was around 11.19% of the total mutual fund assets.
Interestingly, most of the total open-end assets managed by women fund managers outperformed the peer group average in the 1, 3 and 5-year periods.
“Our reports show that of the total open-end assets managed by women fund managers, 82% of the AUM outperformed the peer group average on a one-year basis, 93% of the AUM outperformed on a three-year basis, and 99% of the AUM outperformed on a five-year basis—a feat truly worth commending,” the report said.
Also Read: What should women do to retire rich with high pensions? Experts explain
Till January 31, women fund managers were managing equity/growth funds worth approx. Rs 1.43 lakh crore. In the fixed income category (excluding Overnight, Money Market and Liquid funds), women were managing funds worth approx Rs 88,335 crore.
The report further said that the 42 women fund managers were spread across 24 fund houses, with five fund houses having three or more women fund managers while six fund houses had two women fund managers. As many as 13 fund houses had at least one-woman fund manager.
Dip in AUM
The number of women fund managers has increased from 18 in 2017 to 42 in 2023. However, there was a dip in the total assets managed by women as of January 2023, probably due to the exit of two prominent women fund managers last year – Swati Kulkarni (UTI MF) and Lakshmi Iyer (Kotak MF).
“In terms of the quantum of assets, since the time we started publishing this report, every year, we witnessed a rise in the total assets managed by women. That trend changed this time around, as, for the first time, the total assets managed by women as of January 2023 fell in comparison with the previous year. This dip could be attributed to two prominent names that exited the mutual fund management industry last year,” the report said.
Also Read: How women salaried employees can increase their tax savings in 2023
However, the total number of women fund managers has increased compared to the last year. There were only 32 women fund managers in 2022, while in 2021, the number of women fund managers was just 30.