How India’s richest are fuelling a wealth management frenzy

A few months ago, I experienced just such an epiphany.

Thanks to some cunningly cultivated friendships back in kindergarten, I found myself included in the guest list of a glittering celebration at a Himalayan resort, where a friend’s friend’s father was celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary.

I had always cast wistful glances at the famed property. With the cheapest room priced at ₹30,000 a night and suites soaring to ₹1.5 lakh during peak season, this is the sort of place that remains firmly out of reach for someone in my tax bracket. Needing no further persuasion, I drove there to witness firsthand the life of the haves and havealots.

And for three hallucinatory days, my jaw lay in close proximity to the floor.

On arriving, I discovered that the entire property, some 130 rooms, had been booked exclusively for the event. Many guests were flown in from abroad. Entertainment came in the form of specially curated events such as ballroom dancing and wine tasting. On the second evening, a mid-tier Bollywood singer regaled the audience, accompanied by a full orchestra and Eastern European backup dancers. The next day, a famous qawwali-singing duo came from Mumbai, and sang Sufi-inspired songs on love, longing and the futility of materialism as guests sipped ₹20,000-a-bottle champagne in crystal glasses.

The bar was open throughout the stay—the drinks menu opened with Glenfiddich and only went higher, while three in-house restaurants served everything from the finest Indian cuisine to exotic global dishes.

Discreet queries to the hotel staff and event management personnel indicated an expenditure of around ₹4 crore for the soiree. This excluded the Swarovski crystal sets and Jaeger-LeCoultre watches gifted to family members and close friends.

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Who was the host in question? He was not a tycoon in the Adani–Ambani league, or the promoter of a major listed company, or someone with a marquee surname. He owned a handful of medical colleges in North India, liquor distribution licences for some cities, and a scattering of other businesses. He was not the richest man in his city (a well-known hill station), or even the richest resident of his street. And yet, the gentleman managed to splurge on a three-day party what I, and nearly 99% of my fellow countrymen, can scarcely hope to save during our lifetimes.

‘Unity in diversity’ has long served as India’s unofficial motto, but ‘unity in divergence’ may be a truer reflection of its socio-economic milieu. It is a country where 800 million people depend on free foodgrains, and also home to the third-highest population of dollar billionaires in the world. A place where the per capita income is not even $3,000 but the top 1% live in dazzle and decadence that would make Louis XIV blush.

But this rise of the ultra-affluent is not just a spectacle of excess, it is also spawning an entire ecosystem of opportunities. Including one worth a staggering $2.7 trillion.

Kuber’s kingdom

India’s wealth pyramid is extraordinarily top-heavy. The richest 1% of households hold 60% of the country’s wealth, global brokerage Bernstein estimated in a recent report.

This translates to assets worth an astounding $11.6 trillion. Within this pool, close to 60% is concentrated in physical assets such as land, real estate, and gold, while another 15% is tied up in illiquid financial holdings such as founder equity or closely held stakes in businesses. What remains is a serviceable base of about $2.7 trillion in liquid financial assets, comprising bank deposits, listed equity outside of promoter holdings, and other marketable securities. This forms the addressable universe for a nascent niche of the financial services industry: wealth management.

Wealthy Indian families have traditionally relied on a mix of self-management, trusted family accountants, and conventional bank channels (often with ‘privileged banking’ verticals) to oversee their finances. As a result, specialised wealth managers hold only around 11% of the $2.7 trillion market at present.

India’s wealth pyramid is extraordinarily top-heavy. The richest 1% of households hold 60% of the country’s wealth, global brokerage Bernstein estimated in a recent report.

However, the dynamics are now changing towards specialization, aided with the rise of the next generation of uber-rich, who are more financially savvy. Other nouveau riche members such as startup founders and C-suite executives already have much of their wealth in liquid financial form rather than tied up in land or other traditional assets. At the same time, financial markets themselves have grown more complex, with global diversification, alternatives, and structured products becoming increasingly important, necessitating the need for specialized (and customised) advice.

According to Bernstein estimates, this $2.7 trillion pool is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% over the next decade to reach $9 trillion by 2034-35, propelled by the broader trend of financialization of assets.

Goldman Sachs, too, noted in a report last month that higher household savings contribute to a larger pool of investable assets, “which would likely fuel demand for professional wealth management services”.

Higher savings, especially among the affluent, will drive the need for more sophisticated financial products, personalized advisory services, and digital platforms, the report added.

But before we go further, what exactly qualifies as ‘uber-rich’ in India?

Swish set

Bernstein has divided India’s uber-rich (or the top 1% of households) into three buckets. At the very apex are ultra-high-networth individuals (UHNIs), roughly 35,000 families with average incomes of $4.8 million (about ₹40 crore) and assets worth $54 million (nearly ₹450 crore), on average. The threshold net worth to be categorised as a UHNI household is $12 million (around ₹100 crore; Bernstein has taken a conversion rate of ₹83 per dollar). Cumulatively, these households control assets worth $2 trillion.

Just below them are high-networth individual (HNI) households, numbering around 500,000, with average annual incomes of $700,000 (nearly ₹6 crore) and net worth in the $3–12 million range ( ₹25–100 crore).

Expanding the circle further brings us to the affluent households, approximately 2.5 million families, with average annual incomes of $200,000 ( ₹1.6 crore) and net worth in the $1–3 million band ( ₹8.3–25 crore).

These three layers form the top 1% of India’s households, the crème de la crème of the country’s economic landscape.

Beyond the top 1%, come the mass-affluent households (‘the next 2%’), numbering 6 million, with average annual incomes of $33,000 (about ₹28 lakh) and net worths in the range of $0.2–1 million ( ₹1.6 – 8 crore).

And finally, comes the remaining 97% of the country (315 million households), living on hope and an average annual income of just $5,000 ( ₹4,00,000).

Model portfolio

In its 2025 edition of the ‘Affluent Investor Snapshot’ released recently, global banking major HSBC noted that the well-heeled the world over are increasingly relying on specialists to manage their wealth. In a survey of 10,979 affluent investors in 12 markets (including 1,006 in India), it found that eight out of 10 investors seek guidance from experts while making investment and wealth management decisions. Also, 75% of investors prefer advice that directly addresses their circumstances.

These shifts together are setting the stage for specialized wealth managers to play a far larger role in stewarding India’s concentrated pools of capital.

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“Clients are asking for outcomes (liquidity, legacy, tax efficiency, global access) rather than point products,” Ashish Shanker, MD & CEO, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth, told Mint.

Noting that India has around 300 family offices today compared to just 45 in 2018, Shanker added that the demand for sophisticated advice and solutions will mean more interaction with large organized wealth platforms.

“We see a multi-year uptrend for wealth platforms that combine deep advice, alternatives access, estate solutions, and seamless global execution,” he added.

At its heart, wealth management is a relationship business. The engine is the relationship manager, who blends salesmanship with fiduciary advice. They are the ones who cultivate trust, decode a client’s risk appetite, and translate it into a tailored portfolio.

They earn revenue in two main ways. Under the traditional distribution model, commissions are paid by the product manufacturers (such as asset management companies), with the bulk coming from trail fees—recurring payouts linked to assets under advice, prized for their stickiness and predictability. Supplementing this are one-off earnings from broking, debt placements, or insurance sales.

But the industry is also evolving. A growing number of ultra-high-net-worth clients, wary of hidden conflicts, now prefer to pay their wealth managers directly. This advisory fee model strips away opacity, aligns incentives, and allows the wealthy to feel their counsel is truly independent. Alongside this shift, wealth managers earn from lending (offering credit lines or loans against portfolios), and from value-added services such as succession planning, trust structuring, and complex tax solutions.

“As the uber-rich population expands annually, there is an increasing demand for professional advisory services to cater to their diverse financial needs. This segment’s high risk tolerance makes them keen to explore diverse investment avenues, across asset classes like debt, equity and alternatives,” Sailesh Balachandran, executive director, founder and joint-CEO, Prime Trigen Wealth Ltd, told Mint.

A notable trend is the burgeoning interest in offshore investments as a strategy to diversify and mitigate market and currency risks. Wealth management firms perceive immense potential in utilizing the GIFT City route (which makes it easier to invest overseas) to offer innovative solutions tailored for both Indian and global Indian clientele.

“Additionally, there is a significant rise in wealth among individuals from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities. This group shows a keen interest in exploring new financial opportunities, encouraging wealth management firms to develop fresh, new-age portfolio strategies. Companies that can genuinely understand and meet the evolving needs of these emerging clients are positioned to capture substantial market share,” added Maneesh Kapoor, executive director, founder, and joint CEO, Prime Trigen Wealth.

On the cost side, the single biggest expense is talent. Top relationship managers command generous pay and incentives because they function as entrepreneurs within the platform, building their own client books and revenue streams. Supporting them are product specialists, compliance teams, and, increasingly, technology platforms that allow firms to scale efficiently while still delivering bespoke service.

The surge in the wealth industry is already showing up in the quarterly scorecards of companies.

Nuvama Wealth grew its consolidated revenues by 15% on-year to ₹770 crore in Q1FY26, while profit after tax (PAT) jumped 19% to ₹264 crore. Within its wealth management vertical, Managed Products and Investment Solutions surged 59% YoY, while its share of revenues increased from 40% to 54%.

On similar lines, Anand Rathi Wealth’s consolidated revenue from operations grew 15% to ₹274 crore and PAT surged 28% to ₹94 crore. Assets under management with its wealth business soared 27% year-on-year to ₹85,742 crore, while the number of relationship managers stood at 382. The active client base grew to 12,330 families, a 19% jump from 10,382 families in the corresponding quarter last year.

360 ONE saw a 10% increase in revenue from operations at ₹662 crore, while PAT climbed 18% to ₹287 crore. Its wealth management assets under management surged nearly 30% to ₹5.7 trillion.

Premium play

For the average retail investor, the rarefied world of bespoke wealth managers, family offices, and PMS offerings still lies far out of reach. But that doesn’t mean the opportunity is off-limits.

Comparing the rise of the wealth management industry today to the advent of private banks in India during the late 1990s, which set the stage for tremendous value creation for investors, Bernstein said it sees assets under management of dedicated wealth managers growing at 18% CAGR to $1.6 trillion by 2034-35 from around $300 billion currently.

“Being people-driven, asset-light businesses, wealth managers require limited capital and generate high return on equity (20-40%). They fund growth requirements from internal accrual and declare dividends with high payout ratios,” it added.

Nuvama Wealth is its top pick in the segment, with a target price of ₹9,790, followed by 360 One and Anand Rathi Wealth.

Some experts also say wealth management stocks can be a better play on the financialization theme in Indian capital markets.

“In a prolonged, range-bound market, high-quality wealth managers can show more earnings resilience than pure-play AMCs—because their revenue mix is broader (advisory/trail, alternatives, lending platforms, broking/transaction) and their HNI / UHNI client bases are less flow-sensitive. Alternatives are increasingly playing a big role in making outcomes less sensitive on capital markets,” Motilal Oswal’s Shanker noted.

Across industries, premiumization has become the defining theme—whether in automobiles, real estate, fashion, or even coffee. In finance, wealth management is that premium story. And with a $2.7 trillion pool of liquid wealth at stake, it is arguably the biggest premiumization play of them all.