Here's why Indian wealth managers need to be worried

Projecting that the wealth of the ultra high networth households (HNHs) in India is slated to grow nearly 5-fold in as many years, a report has said domestic wealth managers will come under increased competition from entrenched foreign players in the future.

“As wealth creation intensifies in India in the future, it is inevitable that foreign wealth managers and wealth funds aggressively start seeking out Indian clients,” a report by the research arm of ratings agency Crisil and Kotak Wealth Management says.

“Indian managers will be faced with competition from experienced, foreign entities, who may be able to offer more on the global platform,” it adds.

The report says the wealth of HNHs-households having an investible surplus of over Rs 25 crore-will grow nearly five times to Rs 318 trillion by end of FY17 from the present Rs 65 trillion.

The number of such households, which grew by 19,000 to 81,000 last year, is expected to grow to 2.86 lakh by FY17.

The projection is based on the assumption that the country’s economy will grow at an average of 7.5 percent over the period. The country’s GDP grew by 6.5 percent in FY'12 and is widely expected to grow slower this fiscal.

The report says that established Indian wealth managers can forge tie-ups with the overseas companies to offer more products to the investing clients and also earn revenues from the client-seeking foreign entities.

PTI