Are Indians investing more, or are the asset-rich getting richer?

India’s financial savings and equity market participation have expanded sharply since 2020, with mutual fund assets, retail shareholdings and pension savings recording strong growth. However, the rising value of financial assets raises a key question: are more Indians participating in the markets, or are the already wealthy accumulating more wealth?

In a post examining India's changing investment landscape, Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO of Zerodha, shared graphs tracking financial asset balances and monthly market activity between 2015 and 2026. The data show a sharp increase in mutual fund assets, equity holdings, pension savings and stock market transactions, particularly after 2020.

Mutual fund assets and pension savings surge

Mutual fund assets under management (AUM) have climbed to ₹82.6 lakh crore, from less than ₹10 lakh crore around 2015. The graph shows a particularly steep acceleration after 2020, reflecting the growing scale of the mutual fund industry.

The National Pension System (NPS) has also expanded significantly, with total assets under management reaching ₹18.2 lakh crore. Bank term deposits, meanwhile, have risen to ₹164.2 lakh crore, indicating that traditional savings continue to coexist with growing participation in market-linked investments.

Together, these trends suggest that India's financial savings pool has expanded substantially over the past decade.

Retail and HNI equity holdings rise

Kamath's graphs show retail equity holdings reaching ₹34.6 lakh crore, while holdings attributed to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) have increased to ₹9.9 lakh crore. Both categories have recorded substantial growth since 2020, although their trajectories include periods of volatility.

Domestic institutional investor (DII) equity holdings have climbed to ₹89.7 lakh crore. This highlights the growing scale of domestic institutional participation in India's equity markets. However, the category includes mutual funds and pension funds, among other institutional balances, and should not be treated as a separate measure of household wealth.

The figures establish that the value of equity holdings has increased across several categories. They do not, by themselves, establish whether wealth is becoming more evenly distributed among investors.

Market activity gathers pace

Monthly gross delivery of shares on the NSE and BSE has risen to ₹11.9 lakh crore, indicating a sharp increase in the value of shares settled into demat accounts outside intraday trades.

Net inflows into equity mutual funds have also grown, reaching ₹38,294 crore in the latest observation shown. However, the graph highlights significant fluctuations, including negative monthly flows around 2020.

These indicators capture different aspects of market participation: accumulated assets, share deliveries and monthly investment flows.

Are more Indians benefiting?

The graphs shared by Kamath point to a deeper financialisation of household savings and a growing domestic investor base. But rising asset values do not necessarily mean that participation or wealth is becoming more widespread.

Determining whether ordinary investors are catching up with wealthier households would require data on investor numbers, median portfolio sizes, income groups and asset concentration. The central question remains whether India's expanding financial wealth reflects broader participation or increasingly valuable portfolios held by those who already own financial assets.