How do you explain a typical Indian mutual fund investor? A question almost certainly many advertisers would ask marketing skull honchos of mutual funds. A review showed that he (and not she) is actually a 45-year-old married man who is fickle minded about his investing. While there have been no gender related studies done in the past, this survey indicated that 92% of mutual fund investors were actually men.

For starters, the age factor for Indian mutual fund investors almost bears a resemblance to that of a developed country like the US. ‘Is there a problem’, one may ask. There is, since the demographic break up of India is very dissimilar from that of the US. India is a youthful country with an average age of 30 years. More than 50% of Indians are below the age of 35 years. In contrast, the average age of an American is much higher – around 45 years.

The statistics seem to indicate that youth is splurging a lot more than saving for posterity. Cars, snazzy mobiles and Loius Vuitton bags are taking precedence over savings. More of them are also buying houses – leaving little to save. The regular age of home buying has been falling. It is down to 32 years. So EMI payments - and their pressure group above – seem to be keeping them occupied. With little to save, they aren’t probably investing much in mutual funds.

Does marital status affect the way you invest? Yes, if you are an Indian. Some insurers mention that the insurance policies are frequently bought after marriage. This is because the concept of risk seeps into the mind of an standard Indian male only after he ties the knot. What about the responsibility towards you parents during the bachelor days? One may ask. This is best left unanswered.

Also with investment (mutual fund) needs typically following that of risk protection, the propensity to invest is lesser among the youth. The average mutual fund investor is 45 years old. Probably at this age he is freed from dwelling loan debt to actual start concentrating on investing needs.

According to the survey, Indian MF investors were found to be fickle minded different the US investors. In US, according to ICI survey 2007, average tenure of mutual fund investment was five years. 13% of its investors had an average asset horizon of 10 or more years, 27% with an investment horizon of 5 to 9 years, 15% for 3 to 4 years and 26% for 1 to 2 years. In India, over the years the average investment tenure has, in fact, drop from 18 months to less than a year. Heavy mix of MF portfolio — thanks to crooked distributors, is bringing down the standard holding era.

What’s the standard number of joint fund schemes that an investor holds? In the US, it is 4 mutual funds and the statistic in India is not very different (four). With its unique human being characteristics, the Indian saver is in fact turning out to be a mystery for MF marketers.

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