International Women’s Day: Women fund manager count same as last year, only 13% assets handled by them, says Morningstar

The latest Morningstar report findings reveal that out of 473 fund managers, 42 are women, showing no increase compared to the previous year. However, there has been a steady rise in the overall number of fund managers from 428 last year. As a result, the percentage of women fund managers has also dipped from 9.81 percent a year ago to 8.88 percent.

As per the report, these 42 female fund managers are spread across 21 fund houses, with varying distributions: five houses have three or more female managers, five have two, and 11 have at least one. Meanwhile, when it comes to tenure, 10 fund managers are managing funds consistently for five years or more while 25 have been managing for less than three years, it added.

The report also pointed out that over the past three years, the Indian mutual fund industry has seen an addition of 97 fund managers, with only 12 being women. However, there has been notable progress compared to 2017, when the number of women fund managers was merely 18.

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The Morningstar analysis reveals that among the total open-ended assets managed or co-managed by female fund managers, 70 percent outperformed the peer group average over a one-year period, 71 percent outperformed over a three-year span, and an impressive 93.5 percent outperformed over five years.

The report also informed that female fund managers oversee approximately ₹6.66 lakh crore in total assets, constituting 12.63 percent of the total mutual fund assets. This marks a significant increase from last year's ₹4.44 lakh crore, representing a growth of 50 percent, it noted.

“Although the assets managed or co-managed by women are increasing, their percentage relative to the overall industry assets hasn't reached a noteworthy level yet. However, on a positive note, the assets in percentage terms did see an increase this year after witnessing regression in the past two years,” stated Morningstar.

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While this growth is noteworthy, it hasn't reached a significant percentage relative to the industry assets. Nevertheless, there's a positive trend as this percentage has increased this year after seeing regression in the past two years, highlighted the report.

Furthermore, it observed that female fund managers demonstrate versatility across asset classes. The majority of assets, ₹2.86 lakh crore or 43 percent, are managed in the equity/growth asset class, followed by the allocation asset class at ₹1.68 lakh crore or 25.3 percent. This diverse distribution showcases their expertise across different segments of the industry.