Gaining financial wisdom, Groww app way

First time investors often do not have specific goals for their financial investments. Their key criteria is high returns, short-term lock-ins and complete transparency. Young professionals aged 23-28 are taking active interest in learning about mutual funds, seeking answers on how to get started and enquiring about the risks.

Groww, one of India’s fast growing financial investment portal, is building communities using Whatsapp groups to discuss financial investments in a secure, transparent environment In India, key individual decisions are often taken by weighing in the opinion of the people you trust - mostly family and friends who lack financial expertise. 

Groww, one of India’s fast growing financial investment portal, is building communities using Whatsapp groups to discuss financial investments in a secure, transparent environment. These groups provide an easy-to-use forum that enables members to make decisions with accurate and unbiased information. The groups operate in a true democratic microcosm - run on the collaborative wisdom of, for and by the people, moderated by Groww experts. 

Through an effective network of over 50,000 users across 200 Whatsapp groups, in the age group of 25-35 years, these groups are increasingly becoming a source of information about mutual fund investments. 

People trust the other users because of transparency. Not only are they a great source of information and content about mutual funds, but they also connect a whole new generation of investors that did not have access to personalized advice. A query posted by a user is answered in a personalised way in the user’s language by other users. It’s just like asking your best friend or uncle or colleague for advice - but only with the benefit of the collective wisdom of many such advisors, making decisions much more informed. All of these groups are moderated, filtering out non-relevant information. The dedicated team at Groww ensures that the discussions over each group stay effective.

Here are some of the key trends that have emerged over the last fifteen months through various active conversations on these groups:

User segments
There are three different segments of users on these groups - beginners, investors and experts. Beginners - Most users of group start as beginners, people who are just looking to start investing. These users benefit from asking questions they have and following the conversations initiated by other members’ questions. Investors - constitute about 30 per cent of users, have already been investing and often engage in discussions about investment strategies and performance of various funds. Experts - Experts on the other hand answer most of the questions posed by beginners and investors. 

Investment Goals
First time investors often do not have specific goals for their financial investments. Their key criteria is high returns, short-term lock-ins and complete transparency. Young professionals aged 23-28 are taking active interest in learning about mutual funds, seeking answers on how to get started and enquiring about the risks. They are looking at high growth funds, direct equity and sector funds, and are often willing to stomach higher risks for better returns. More seasoned investors joining these groups, many of them in the 45-60 age bracket, explore specific investment goals - retirement, monthly income plans or investment options that are safe while providing better returns than a fixed deposit. 

Looking for low cost investment - direct mutual funds
The popularity of direct funds is rising. About 35 per cent of users are talking about direct plans. Interestingly, the proportion of direct investors is less than 15 per cent in the industry. These groups give a unique way for the information to spread among fellow investors. Benefits of direct plans gets discussed over these open forums. As a result, more and more new investors become aware and want that. Users are getting the required guidance from group experts instead of relying on mutual funds distributors/agents. 

New investors prefer mobile app
Most of the new investors are coming on mobile first. The users who are on the groups are very comfortable in having financial discussions and making decisions on mobile. Users are also sharing a lot of content from the Groww app and outside to these groups. 

Tier 2, 3 cities 
Similarly, surprisingly the biggest chunk (>60 per cent) of users is from Tier 2 and 3 cities, where aspirational motivation is a lot higher and the keenness to invest a lot stronger. People from these cities are very active and spend more time on the groups than people from Tier 1 cities. 

Debt funds also popular
Investors who are on the group visit the app 40 per cent more than the ones who are not. Social proof works great for investors on the fence. The most asked question on these forums is ‘is it the right time to invest’? When other users tell ‘Every time is right time to invest’, they tend to start quickly.