Mumbai Smartest In Financial Intelligence, Delhi Ranks Second

An early start, willingness and goal-based planning to seek professional advice have made traders of Mumbai the most financially intelligent. In a study conducted on behalf of Ameriprise India, a financial planning company by TNS India, investors scored 5.8 on scale of ten, the highest amongst 6 cities. Delhi ranked 2^nd on Financial Intelligence Index with 4.5 score followed by Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune. The study gave equal weightage to 5 parameters: the age at which you begin investing, long term horizon, portfolio diversification, seeking professional help and goal based investment. Almost 700 upwardly mobile traders in the age group of 28-45 years and with annual household income of Rs. 12.5 lakh responded to the survey.

Mr. Kapil Narang, Chief Operating Officer at Ameriprise Indian Advisory Services said that there are potential areas of enhancement across these cities. Traders need to diversify their portfolio, Chennai and Bengaluru would do well with more professional advice, Hyderabad and Delhi should begin investing earlier and Pune should focus on goal-based investing. The survey also shows that Indian traders are waking up to the need for retirement planning. Kim Sharan, President Wealth Strategies and Financial Planning at Ameriprise Financial said that this is an encouraging development.

The trend is most pronounced in Bangalore, where 27 percent of respondents listed retirement as their top goal. In Mumbai, the respondents’ percentage giving primacy to retirement rose from 6 percent last year to 26 percent now. Fascinatingly, traders are now giving priority to retirement planning over other goals, such as purchasing a vehicle or going on a vacation. In Delhi, the biggest automotive market in India, only 14 percent respondents have listed purchasing a vehicle as their top financial goal in 2013. In other cities including Bangalore and Chennai, some traders have even junked plans to invest in a 2^nd house. Nonetheless, it isn’t clear whether these shifts in priorities were because of greater emphasis on retirement planning or on other factors.