Bridging advice gap for India's 55 million mutual fund investors big opportunity: PowerUp Money CEO

Bengaluru, Jul 24 (PTI) With India’s mutual fund investor base surging past 55 million, the time is ripe to reimagine wealth management, says Prateek Jindal, founder and CEO of fintech startup PowerUp Money, who is looking at demystifying the process to make investing effortless for all.

PowerUp Money is nudging the wealth tech sector to shift focus from access to advice.

"The biggest opportunity lies in bridging the advice gap. With the right mix of data, design, and empathy, we can make mutual fund investing truly effortless for every Indian," Jindal told PTI.

PowerUp Money is targeting the large and growing base of retail investors who want to invest smarter, not just more.

"You shouldn’t need to be a finance expert to grow your money well. When you get the right advice at the right time, it compounds not just your money, but your confidence as an investor," Jindal added.

The future of investment advisory in India is AI-powered, data-driven, mobile-first, and his company is focused on building "a personal wealth manager in your pocket".

"Most investors don’t know if they’re investing correctly," he said.

The problem isn’t about getting people to start investing. But what happens after someone makes their first Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) or lump sum investment.

According to Jindal, mutual fund portfolios are often left unattended for years, quietly underperforming. Investors lack clarity on which funds to choose, how to review their portfolio, and when to rebalance.

PowerUp Money, he said, aims to close that gap with an app-first platform that delivers high-quality, research-backed advisory in a fully do-it-yourself experience.

Its flagship offerings include Power Mutual Funds, a free tool that reviews portfolios in less than 30 seconds, and PowerUp Elite, a Rs 999-a-year premium membership designed to provide end-to-end portfolio guidance without the asset under management (AUM) linked fees of traditional wealth management.

A CLEARER PATH TO LONG-TERM WEALTH The startup’s decision to focus solely on mutual funds, rather than equities, crypto, or alternative assets has been deliberate.

"Mutual funds are the most effective and reliable way to build long-term wealth in India," said Jindal.

They offer professional management, diversification, SEBI oversight, and complete transparency, he said. And one can start with as little as Rs 100.

He said SIP inflows reached Rs 27,269 crore in June 2025, an all-time high, demonstrating that Indian investors are sticking to long-term plans even during volatile periods.

The mutual fund industry projected to double its assets to Rs 150 lakh crore by 2030 and the investor base expected to cross 10 crore.

BUILDING TRUST THROUGH TRANSPARENCY According to Jindal, a key pillar of PowerUp Money’s approach is its SEBI-registered RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) status, which ensures that its advice is unbiased and free of commissions.

The company has built an in-house research engine that crunches over 20 years of mutual fund performance data. Its fund rating system simplifies portfolio review by categorising funds as in-form, on-track, off-track, or out-of-form.

This clarity is particularly appealing to today’s self-directed investor, someone who is "cash-rich but time-poor" and prefers digital-first platforms with transparent pricing and direct plans, Jindal pointed out.

PowerUp Elite membership is tailored to this audience, providing end-to-end tools including fund selection via its Power Rank system, two-year performance trends and quarterly tax-efficient rebalancing plans.

"It’s everything a top one per cent investor would expect - without the high AUM-linked fees," said Jindal.

The platform also offers first-of-a-kind tools like Portfolio versus Market, which benchmarks user portfolios against major indices, and rolling return comparisons, which provide forward-looking insights often missing from traditional platforms.

SCALING PERSONALISATION WITH TECHNOLOGY While traditional advisory has struggled to scale due to high servicing costs, PowerUp Money is using technology to deliver personalised advice at scale.

Its backend models simulate real-world investment outcomes, adjusting for individual SIPs, redemptions, and behavior. Early backtests show users following its recommendations have seen 3–7 per cent higher returns than category averages, the company claims.

Looking ahead, the company plans to enable mutual fund transactions directly in the app and offer managed services for users who prefer expert-led portfolio management. The broader vision is to become India’s default platform for investment advisory, starting with mutual funds and expanding to other asset classes.

"We want to be the default choice for millions of Indians looking to manage their wealth with confidence. In the next three years, our goal is to serve 10 million users, helping them build long-term wealth with the same clarity and discipline as the top one per cent," Jindal said. PTI MBI MIN MIN