India’s Richest Families Shift 40-45% of Portfolios to Private Markets
Updated
Updated · The Financial Express · Aug 21
India’s Richest Families Shift 40-45% of Portfolios to Private Markets
3 articles · Updated · The Financial Express · Aug 21
Summary
40-45% of allocations in many Indian family offices now go to alternatives, according to a Julius Baer-EY 2026 report, marking a move away from portfolios centered on listed equities, fixed income and real estate.
10-20% or more is increasingly being earmarked for private equity and venture capital, with family offices also adding private credit, AIFs, REITs and InvITs as they pursue wealth creation, diversification and higher risk-adjusted returns.
19,000-plus ultra-high-net-worth individuals in India — a figure projected to exceed 25,000 by 2031 — are helping drive the shift, alongside younger family members who favor direct deals, co-investments and themes such as AI, climate tech and digital infrastructure.
5- to 10-year lock-ins, opaque valuations and lighter disclosure are raising governance demands, pushing family offices to hire CIOs, CFOs and risk professionals and adopt more formal investment processes.
More capital is also moving overseas to tap deeper private markets and manage concentration and currency risk, with the report portraying family offices as increasingly active long-term private capital providers rather than passive wealth custodians.
As India's young billionaires bypass public markets for direct startup bets, what hidden risks lurk behind their aggressive push for active wealth creation?
With billions locking into illiquid private assets, are India's ultra-rich building a massive wealth engine or walking into a decade-long liquidity trap?
Could the slow adoption of GIFT City reveal a deeper fear among India's elite about trapping their capital within domestic regulatory borders?