Digital Investor Archetypes On India’s New Platforms

India’s retail investor base is no longer a single category. On digital platforms in particular, it has fractured into distinct cohorts with different incomes, ages, city tiers, risk appetites, and behaviours. The Bain “How India Invests 2025” report uses Groww’s investor base to identify seven such archetypes that together account for roughly 75% of total AUM on the platform.

Understanding who these investors are, and how they behave, is now central to how products are designed, how risk is managed, and how the market evolves.

Digital platforms have become the fastest-growing channel for retail investing, accounting for the activity of ~80% of direct equity investors and ~35% of mutual fund investors. Within the universe, the salaried segment still dominates by occupation, while millennials and Gen Z together make up close to 80% of the base. There is also an even split between metro / Tier-1 and Tier-2+ investors, with Tier-2+ regions growing faster.

From this broader pool, the report focuses on seven investor segments that cut across age, occupation, and city tier: salaried millennials in metros and Tier-1 cities, salaried millennials in Tier-2+ cities, salaried Gen Z, salaried Gen X across Tier-1 and Tier-2+, self-employed professionals, Gen Z students, and business-owner investors. Together, these segments account for around three-quarters of AUM on the platform and show clearly different patterns across four dimensions: investment mechanism, risk appetite, digital-adoption growth, and market maturity.

Salaried Millennials: The Core Systematic Investors

Salaried millennials, both in metros/Tier-1 and in Tier-2+ cities, form the single largest block of digital platforms’ AUM. The metro and Tier-1 cohort accounts for about 20% of AUM with an average portfolio size of roughly ₹3.2 lakh, which has grown around 2.6x in two years. Their Tier-2+ peers contribute about 14% of AUM, with an average portfolio of around ₹2.3 lakh, up about 2.5x over the same period.

Across both groups, mutual funds have high salience, and within mutual funds, SIPs are the dominant route. Salaried millennials in metros and Tier-1 cities have the highest mutual fund share among salaried segments and the lowest trading velocity across the seven archetypes, indicating a relatively “investing-oriented” approach rather than a trading mindset.

On risk, this metro/Tier-1 millennial cohort is also the most cautious. Roughly one-third of their portfolios sit in lower-risk mutual funds, and their move into mid-cap and thematic funds has been more measured than in some other segments.

Taken together, salaried millennials are emerging as the backbone of long-term, SIP-driven mutual fund flows on digital platforms, with Tier-2+ peers showing similar patterns from a slightly smaller base and with somewhat higher trading activity.

Salaried Gen Z: Fast-Growing, Higher-Risk Portfolios

Salaried Gen Z investors form a smaller AUM pool today but are growing quickly. They account for about 10% of AUM, with an average portfolio size of around ₹1.8 lakh that has expanded by roughly 2.8x in two years.

Gen Z salaried investors have moved up the risk curve faster than most other segments, increasing allocations to mid-cap and thematic funds as they chase higher returns and new narratives.

Their SIP sizes are rising as well. Across segments, the average SIP per investor has grown about 1.6x in three years, with a visible shift from very small SIPs (below ₹1,000) to higher brackets above ₹5,000, and salaried Gen Z is part of that trend.

At the same time, Gen Z cohorts, including salaried investors and students, are among the most sensitive to market movements. Lump-sum flows respond quickly to rallies and corrections, indicating a more reactive pattern compared with older cohorts.

Salaried Gen X: Larger, More Balanced Portfolios

Salaried Gen X investors in Tier-1 and Tier-2+ cities also account for around 10% of digital AUM, with the highest average portfolio size among the salaried cohorts at roughly ₹3.3 lakh and growth of about 2.3x in two years.

Their portfolios are more evenly split between direct equity and mutual funds, with a slight tilt toward lump-sum investing within mutual funds. Salaried Gen X investors have shown one of the strongest shifts from equity to mutual funds over the last two years, suggesting a move towards more professionally managed and diversified exposure as they progress in their investing journey.

On risk, they are among the segments that have increased allocations to mid-cap and thematic funds but from a base that is more diversified across strategies.

Their behaviour on lump-sum flows is more measured: these flows are sensitive to markets, but SIPs continue in a relatively steady fashion, indicating a higher degree of discipline through cycles compared with younger cohorts.

Self-Employed Professionals: Balanced Between Funds and Stocks

Self-employed professionals, including doctors, lawyers, consultants and similar occupations, represent about 12% of AUM on the platform. Their average portfolio size is approximately ₹2.7 lakh, having grown by around 2.4x in two years.

Bain’s data shows a balanced mix between mutual funds and direct equity in this group, with neither clearly dominating. Their risk appetite and product choices have moved largely in line with the broader market rather than leading it, and trading activity sits near the middle of the pack relative to the other archetypes.

Overall, this cohort resembles the median digital investor profile: diversified, gradually increasing SIP sizes, and participating in equity and mutual funds without extreme behaviour in either direction.

Gen Z Students: Small Portfolios, Rapid Expansion

Gen Z students represent about 7% of the AUM share and have the smallest average portfolio size, at roughly ₹0.9 lakh. However, their portfolios have grown the fastest, increasing by about 3.1x in two years.

They have the fewest folios and individual holdings, reflecting early-stage portfolios that are still building basic diversification. SIP amounts start low but are rising; they follow the same pattern as other Gen Z cohorts in shifting from very low SIPs to higher brackets over time.

On market maturity, Gen Z students are the most responsive to market movements, with lump-sum flows adjusting quickly to perceived opportunities or risks.

This segment illustrates how very small starting balances can still translate into meaningful growth when digital access, information, and rising incomes intersect.

Business-Owner Investors: Shifting From Trading To Investing

Business-owner investors account for about 4% of AUM, with average portfolios around ₹2.6 lakh that have grown by roughly 2.4x over two years.

Their portfolios are skewed more heavily toward direct equity than towards mutual funds, and they exhibit the highest trading velocity across the seven archetypes, a pattern consistent with a more trading-oriented mindset.

This cohort therefore combines entrepreneurial risk-taking with gradually rising use of diversified vehicles, and remains an important source of incremental risk capital on digital platforms.

Why These Archetypes Matter

The seven archetypes underline a simple point: the Indian “retail investor” on digital platforms is not a single profile. Salaried millennials in large cities with high SIP salience behave differently from Gen Z students with very small portfolios and high reactivity to markets. Business owners with equity-heavy, high-velocity portfolios behave differently from salaried Gen X investors who have been steadily moving towards diversified mutual fund holdings.

For product manufacturers and platforms, this has three implications. First, product design and communication need to match segment characteristics: the same mix will not suit a highly risk-sensitive young Gen Z cohort and a more cautious salaried millennial group. Second, risk management at a system level depends on the balance between more stable, SIP-driven flows and more reactive, trading-heavy segments. Third, as these cohorts age and their portfolios grow, their current habits in public markets will influence how they engage with private markets and more complex products over time.

Chief Brand & Investor Relations Officer

Sneha Dadrwal

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which segment currently dominates AUM on digital platforms?

A: Salaried millennials in larger cities are the single biggest bucket by AUM, followed by salaried millennials in Tier-2+ cities and salaried Gen X. Salaried cohorts collectively own a majority of the assets on the platform.

Q: Which archetypes are growing the fastest?

A: Gen Z cohorts and Tier-2+ investors are growing fastest in both user numbers and assets. Gen Z students, for example, show the highest percentage growth in portfolio size over the last two years, albeit from a small base.

Q: How do risk profiles differ across these segments?

A: Metro/Tier-1 salaried millennials tend to be more conservative, with a higher share in diversified mutual funds and lower trading velocity. Gen Z cohorts and business-owner investors show higher risk appetite, with greater use of mid-cap/thematic funds and more frequent trading.

Q: What is distinctive about business-owner investors on platforms?

A: They allocate a larger share to direct equity, trade more actively than other groups, and have seen strong growth in lump-sum investments.

Q: Why do these archetypes matter for product and platform design?

A: Because each segment differs in portfolio size, risk appetite, and behaviour, a single “retail investor” template is unlikely to be effective. Understanding these patterns is important for designing suitable products, setting risk controls, and planning how these investors may engage with more complex assets over time.

Sources

How India Invests 2025 – Bain & Company