Wealth India Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, the Chennai-based online financial services company that operate the portal FundsIndia.com, said on Thursday that it had raised ₹ 70 crore in its third round of funding. It had previously raised ₹ 3 crore and ₹ 20 crore in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
The funding was led by private equity firm Faering Capital. Existing investors Inventus Capital and Foundation Capital too took part.
The company, founded in 2009 by CR Chandrasekar and Srikanth Meenakshi, aims to use the funds to expand its marketing initiatives, improve technology and build partnerships for online and offline growth.
Start-ups in the online financial services sector are receiving investor attention. Policybazar.com raised $40 million in April and Bankbazaar.com raised $13 million in 2014.
The online financial services market in India was estimated to be ₹ 4,508 crore in December 2014 and has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 20% since 2010, according to industry body Internet & Mobile Association of India.
Users can log into FundsIndia’s website, enter basic details for registration after which an advisor from the company calls them. Users are give suggestions to invest on the basis of criteria including their age and risk appetite.
“In India the mutual fund penetration is 3-4% as compared to a 70-75% in the US. Most users of our services are first-time investors. The average age would be between 28-35 and these users typically invest 5-10% of their salary," said Meenakshi. He said that most users begin with systematic investment plans.
FundsIndia manages assets worth ₹ 1,200 crore and offers mutual funds from all asset management companies, stocks and Exchange Traded funds (ETFs) from the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company has tied up with 39 banks for online transaction facilities.
