Amisha Vora’s advice for first-time women investors

Want to understand a little bit about the women’s day portfolio. What exactly have you curated and what does it comprise of?
We are launching the Wealth for Women portfolio. It is a multi-asset portfolio wherein the investments will be across asset classes comprising equity, fixed income and gold. Within equities, we are taking exposure in large cap and midcap through the index ETFs and also investing in Nasdaq to capture the cutting edge companies and their growth in the women’s portfolio.

All these are invested across asset classes through our proprietary meter which allocates assets based on the readings that our meters are showing. This portfolio is for women because it takes them away from all the detailing of the company, its business, its PE, EV/EBITDA and ROE and whether valuations are fair or not. We are taking a different approach wherein the investments are guided by some of the different proprietary factors but invested only through index ETFs, thereby reducing a lot of risk. When you see the returns of this portfolio over three years, five years, seven years, ten years CAGR, it has been beating all the individual asset classes completely and outperforming because of the tactical allocations across asset classes. It is a multi-asset portfolio and above all it is managed through quant methodology. Human interventions and emotions will not be disturbing the decision making.

What would your advice be for some women who are a little bit apprehensive of entering the equity markets?
Most of the women understand that they are the better judges of risk return and greater discipline in decision making frankly than men. We are better decision makers on spending also. Having said that, we have to trust that particular sense that women have got and since we are now earners also, a large number of women are earning in many different industries and many different ways and owning large to big and small to medium organisations of their own.

It is very important for them to realise the importance of converting their savings into wealth. If their savings do not beat inflation or they do not take part in India’s or the world’s growth story through equity, they are not fully using the potential of their savings. I would very strongly say that they have to have a portfolio of their own and maybe mutual funds are one way.

Second requirement is that of an advisor. I would not think that working women have time to trade unless they are full time into it. So, we have curated the assets to suit these women who are working in different industries to get the advantage of wealth creation. By not starting this journey you are denying yourself the power the money has to earn for you rather than you only spending your time and earning for yourself.

For those women who are looking to make a start now, what would you advise? Not everyone has the time or the understanding to monitor it on a daily basis. Where should they make a start?
For even channeling your small savings, mutual funds are always an option for women. Whether it is a fixed income mutual fund or equity mutual fund, both give them better returns than fixed deposits. So, putting some money in fixed deposits is important but not all. So the basic still remains that a) you invest into mutual funds but as mutual funds have become very large, they are not tailor made to a great extent. So approaching a financial advisor is important. Also, if they do not know about financial markets, they have to spend a little time learning about it because ultimately you are going to make money and to make money, you have to invest a little time.