Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and power sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 104 points (down 0.3%), while the NSE Nifty is trading down by 27 points (down 0.2%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.2%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.3%.

The rupee is trading at 68.93 to the US$.

In the news from the finance sector, AU Small Finance Bank share price is witnessing buying interest today. Gains are seen amid reports that Warburg Pincus sold 5% stake in the company to a marquee investor in a block deal.

Warburg Pincus was required to bring down its stake in the company below 10% in line with RBI regulations.

At the time of writing, AU Small Finance Bank share price was trading up by 8.4% on the BSE.

In other news, as per a Federation of Independent Financial Advisors (FIFA) study of 25 countries, India's equity mutual funds are the third least expensive in the developing world. As per them... "The three approaches - tracking superinvestor shareholdings, catching these moves early through bulk and block deal disclosures, and keeping tabs on changes in promoter holdings - have unveiled some critical smart money secrets..."

As per the data, India's equity mutual fund expense ratio - the portion of assets mutual fund houses take back as a service charge - stands at 1.88%, the third after Norway's 1.80% and Japan's 1.87%.

The average total cost for equity funds before taxes across all countries was 2.15%. The UK was the most expensive at 2.83%.

India was the least expensive among developing nations where the mutual fund industry is at a nascent stage.

The above findings were based on March 2017 data and as per FIFA ownership expense in India would have reduced further as the local regulator has since mandated a reduction in the total expense ratio.

Note that the Indian regulator has asked mutual fund houses to reduce expense ratios to encourage more people to invest in mutual funds.

Speaking of Indian mutual funds, the AUM of the mutual fund industry have nearly doubled in the past two years, from Rs 10.8 trillion in 2015 to Rs 19 trillion in May 2017.

Look at the chart below. It shows tepid investor participation in the Indian stock markets until FY14. But starting from the financial year 2014-15 (FY15), there's a paradigm shift in investments by mutual funds.

The Phenomenal Rise of the Retail Indian Investor

The year 2017-18 (FY18) saw another massive leap in net investments by mutual funds. This was, to quite an extent, triggered by the demonetization drive and then further propelled by the bull rally in the stock markets.

Some of the key drivers for this shift has been the relatively poor performance of other asset classes such as gold and real estate. The down-cycle in interest rates made fixed deposits unattractive.

With stocks gaining acceptance among Indian savers, this trend is likely to sustain.