ET Money
ET Money is an Indian personal finance platform and direct mutual fund investment application, operated by Times Internet Limited, a subsidiary of the Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) media group. Accessible at etmoney.com and through Android and iOS applications, ET Money allows investors to invest in direct plans of mutual fund schemes, purchase insurance products, and access financial planning tools. As of 2024, ET Money disclosed over one crore registered users, positioning it among the larger consumer-facing direct-plan investment platforms in India alongside Kuvera, INDmoney, and Groww.
The platform offers two principal tiers: a free core offering providing access to direct plan mutual fund investing and expense management tools, and a premium subscription called ET Money Genius, which provides model portfolio recommendations, automated rebalancing suggestions, and personalised advice features.
History and founding
ING Vysya origins and ETMONEY launch
The platform originated from a personal finance app called ING Vysya’s My Money tracker, which focused on expense tracking and financial management. The product was acquired by Times Internet in 2015 and relaunched as ETMONEY (later stylised as ET Money), leveraging the brand equity of the Economic Times, one of India’s most widely read financial newspapers.
ET Money launched its mutual fund investing feature in 2017, coinciding with the broader expansion of the direct-plan platform market following SEBI’s 2013 direct plan mandate. The Economic Times brand gave the platform credibility with financially literate audiences who were already familiar with the newspaper’s content on investing, mutual funds, and personal finance.
Times Internet ownership
Times Internet Limited, which also operates properties including Times of India online, Cricbuzz, MensXP, and Indiatimes, holds full ownership of ET Money. Times Internet is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), the parent company of the Times of India Group.
This ownership structure differentiates ET Money from venture-capital-backed competitors such as Kuvera and INDmoney. ET Money benefits from cross-promotion across Times Internet and BCCL properties, including the Economic Times website, and from BCCL’s relationships with financial advertisers.
Regulatory framework
ET Money operates as a SEBI-registered investment adviser (RIA) through ET Money’s RIA registration entity, holding registration under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations 2013. In its distribution capacity for regular-plan products and insurance, the relevant AMFI ARN and IRDAI registrations apply. The platform complies with SEBI’s EOP (Execution-Only Platform) framework introduced in 2023, under which direct-plan distribution platforms are required to register with AMFI and satisfy defined cybersecurity and investor protection standards.
Product offering
Direct plan mutual funds
The core product is direct-plan mutual fund investing across equity, debt, hybrid, and passive schemes from all major AMCs. ET Money supports SIP (systematic investment plan) with a minimum SIP of Rs. 100 for eligible schemes. The app provides fund discovery tools, risk profiling, fund comparison, and scheme ratings sourced from CRISIL and Value Research, among other third-party research providers.
Mutual fund units invested through ET Money are held in SOA format at CAMS or KFin Technologies, consistent with other direct-plan SOA-format platforms.
ET Money Genius
ET Money Genius is a paid subscription service introduced in 2021 that provides investors with a model portfolio recommendation engine, automated rebalancing alerts, and personalised suggestions based on the investor’s goal timeline and risk tolerance. Genius monitors portfolio drift from the recommended allocation and suggests SIP top-ups or fund switches to maintain alignment with the investor’s plan.
The Genius subscription is priced on an annual basis and is positioned as a middle ground between completely self-directed direct-plan investing and full-service wealth management. As of 2024, subscription pricing details were available at etmoney.com/genius.
ELSS and tax-saving
ET Money places particular emphasis on ELSS (equity-linked saving scheme) investments, which qualify for tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per year. The app prominently features ELSS calculators and tax-saving dashboards, and the Economic Times brand association reinforces the platform’s positioning as a tax-planning resource, particularly ahead of the end of the financial year.
Insurance
ET Money distributes term life insurance and health insurance products from partner insurers, acting as an insurance web aggregator or a point of sale (PoS) for insurance distribution. Premium comparison features are offered, with insurers including HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life, and others accessible through the app.
Expense tracking
The original ET Money use case was personal expense tracking, and this feature remains available. The app connects to a user’s email or SMS to automatically identify and categorise financial transactions, providing a spending dashboard that aggregates bank transactions, credit card expenses, and investment SIP flows.
Folio and holding architecture
Like Kuvera, ET Money stores mutual fund units in SOA format at the AMC registrar rather than in a demat account. This means that ET Money holdings are not visible in a CDSL or NSDL demat account. Investors with existing folios at other platforms may consolidate their portfolio view on ET Money by importing their Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) from the depositories.
Comparison with peer platforms
| Feature | ET Money | Kuvera | INDmoney | Groww |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct plans | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Regular plans | Limited | No | No | Yes |
| Holding format | SOA | SOA | SOA | SOA/demat |
| Paid premium tier | ET Money Genius | No | Yes | No |
| Insurance | Yes | No | No | No |
| ELSS emphasis | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Parent group | Times Internet (BCCL) | Smallcase | INDmoney (VC-backed) | Groww (VC-backed) |
Investor grievance and compliance
ET Money provides an investor grievance redressal mechanism through its SEBI RIA registration, with grievances addressable to SEBI’s SCORES platform. The platform discloses commission and fee information consistent with SEBI’s IA Regulations requirements, and publishes a conflict-of-interest disclosure for products where it receives referral fees from third-party product providers.
References
- SEBI Investment Advisers Regulations 2013 (sebi.gov.in)
- SEBI circular SEBI/HO/IMD/IMD-POD-1/P/CIR/2023/74 (EOP framework, 2023)
- ET Money regulatory disclosures (etmoney.com/compliance)
- ET Money Genius product page (etmoney.com/genius)
- Times Internet Limited About page (timesinternet.in)