In addition to domestic investors, Sahar has increasingly focused on enabling Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to participate in India’s investment boom.
Yasin Sahar
The investment management industry is experiencing a generational shift. With global assets under management (AUM) projected to reach $130 trillion by 2028, markets are witnessing a surge in demand for professional wealth management driven by changing investor behaviour, rapid digitization, and increasing financial awareness. In India, this transformation has been particularly striking. Over the past decade, the mutual fund industry has expanded nearly fivefold, reaching ₹50.8 trillion ($610 billion) by 2024, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
Behind this extraordinary growth is a cadre of financial professionals reshaping how Indians think about investing. One such figure is Yaseen Sahar, a veteran investment strategist whose contributions have played a pivotal role in driving mutual fund adoption, improving investor literacy, and reshaping wealth-building behaviour across diverse segments of the population.
Rewiring Investment Behaviour Across India
For decades, Indian households relied heavily on gold, real estate, and fixed deposits traditional instruments that felt tangible and secure. As recently as 2015, mutual fund AUM as a percentage of India’s GDP stood at just 7%, far behind developed markets like the United States (90%) and the United Kingdom (60%).
By 2024, this number more than doubled to over 14%, reflecting a substantial shift in how Indian investors approach wealth creation. Experts attribute this not just to rising incomes or digital platforms, but to leaders like Sahar who have worked at the grassroots level to simplify mutual fund products and demystify investing for the average Indian.
Sahar’s strategic focus on behavioural finance and investor-centric communication has been instrumental in converting savers into long-term investors. By introducing models that align financial products with real-life goals such as children’s education, retirement, or homeownership he has made investing relatable and goal-driven. His guidance has been crucial in boosting inflows into small-cap, mid-cap, and thematic funds vehicles that were once viewed as too volatile or complex by retail investors.
Record-Breaking Mobilizations and Advisory Innovation
One of the most visible indicators of Sahar’s influence has been his role in multiple high-mobilization New Fund Offers (NFOs) and sustained inflows into long-term equity schemes. While the market itself has evolved, Sahar’s contribution has been in bridging the trust gap helping both new and experienced investors navigate volatility through informed risk management and strategic asset allocation.
His emphasis on educating investors around diversification and sectoral exposure has encouraged participation in high-growth areas such as renewable energy, technology, and the automotive value chain. In particular, Sahar has worked to shift investor preferences from short-term performance chasing to disciplined, SIP-led (Systematic Investment Plan) investing models that promote wealth accumulation over time.
Financial Inclusion Through B30 Expansion
Beyond market strategy, Sahar’s work in expanding mutual fund participation in India’s B30 markets cities and towns beyond the top 30 urban centres has been among his most transformative achievements. These regions, often overlooked in financial services discourse, represent a vast pool of untapped potential, historically hindered by low awareness and limited access to credible advisory support.
Sahar recognized early on that financial inclusion must begin with education. Through multilingual investor awareness campaigns, distributor mentoring, and locally customized seminars, he has helped embed investing into the financial culture of semi-urban and rural India. His initiatives have significantly contributed to the double-digit AUM growth rates seen in B30 markets, where retail SIPs are now a growing force in long-term capital formation.
As a result of such initiatives, the financial participation of previously underserved communities has risen steadily marking a shift not just in numbers, but in the financial confidence of India’s emerging middle class.
Empowering Investors Through Behavioural Finance
Navigating the psychological hurdles of investing remains a significant challenge one that Sahar has consistently addressed through his focus on behavioural finance. Research from Dalbar indicates that individual investors often underperform the market by up to 3% annually due to poorly timed exits during downturns.
Sahar’s approach emphasizes structured, goal-oriented investing over emotional decision-making. Through public seminars, expert panels, and widely published thought leadership articles, he has provided frameworks that help investors maintain discipline, understand market cycles, and build resilience against volatility.
His educational efforts extend well beyond the metros, and often integrate digital tools to reach younger, tech-savvy investors. These initiatives promote core investment principles such as asset allocation, risk-adjusted returns, and long-term compounding—that are crucial for sustainable wealth creation.
Financial Literacy as a National Imperative
While investment participation is rising, India continues to face a stark gap in financial literacy. According to the S&P Global Financial Literacy Survey, only 24% of Indian adults are financially literate compared to 57% in the U.S. and 67% in the U.K. This disconnect has broad implications for wealth inequality, savings adequacy, and long-term economic stability.
Sahar has emerged as one of the country’s most vocal advocates for financial literacy. Through dedicated workshops, school and college engagement programs, and partnerships with community-based organizations, he has helped thousands of individuals transition from unstructured savings to strategic investment planning.
His literacy programs are not limited to introductory sessions they also educate participants on more advanced topics such as tax planning, asset rebalancing, and market-linked insurance products. By demystifying finance, Sahar’s work is helping to close India’s investment inclusion gap.
Enabling Global Investors: The NRI Opportunity
In addition to domestic investors, Sahar has increasingly focused on enabling Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to participate in India’s investment boom. NRI investments in mutual funds have grown by 25% over the past year, totalling ₹1.6 trillion ($20 billion). Many NRIs are drawn by India’s robust economic fundamentals and favourable currency dynamics.
Sahar has been at the forefront of designing advisory frameworks for NRIs covering cross-border taxation, regulatory compliance, and long-term portfolio construction. His insights have helped global Indians align their investments with India’s growth narrative, while optimizing for risk and return.
Recognition Rooted in Real-World Impact
Sahar’s multifaceted contributions have earned him several prestigious national and international honours, including the Bharat Vibhushan Puraskar (2024) for advancing financial literacy across India, the Global Laureate in Finance (2024) for his cross-border influence on investment strategy, and the Investment Management Business Leader of the Year (2023) for his leadership in mobilizing investor capital. Colleagues and peers describe him not merely as a strategist, but as a movement-builder someone who blends thought leadership, data-driven insight, and human-centred engagement to make investing more inclusive and accessible.
A Vision for the Next Decade
With the mutual fund industry projected to cross ₹100 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in AUM by 2030, India stands on the cusp of a financial revolution. Yet, for that growth to be sustainable, it must be inclusive, informed, and behaviourally sound.
Professionals like Yaseen Sahar are playing a central role in ensuring that outcome by aligning financial knowledge with real-world access, and turning market participation into a national movement. As India steps into its next decade of wealth creation, it will do so with a more aware, more confident, and more empowered investor base thanks in no small part to the groundwork laid by voices like his.
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