Our Bureau
Mumbai
There was a report by a wealth management firm Bernstein based in the United States, released on Monday, August 4th, which stated that the top 1% of the wealthiest citizens of India hold 60% of their money and assets in gold and real estate.
This ‘wealthiest citizens’ sector comprises of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI), High Net Worth Individuals (HNI) and the affluent class and 1% of these citizens hold 60% of the total assets of India. This strata of the society holds around 11.6 trillion dollars in total wealth and 70% of India’s financial assets, as per the reports.
The total household wealth of India is estimated to be somewhere around 19.6 trillion dollars, out of which 59% is held by this wealthy segment of the population of the country. Of this $19.6 trillion, only $2.7 trillion is invested in serviceable financial assets which can be moved and managed such as mutual funds, equities, insurance, and bank or government deposits. The remaining $8.9 trillion is invested in non-serviceable assets that includes gold, cash holdings, promoter equity, and physical real estate, as per the report.
According to the report there is a huge potential and opportunity for the asset management firms to keep growing their Assets Under Management (AUM) over the coming ten years. This opportunity can be used by the ‘Wealthiest Class’ to look for avenues to grow their portfolios beyond gold and real estate.
The report by Bernstein has also highlighted that the wealth segment in India has remained mostly away from the formal wealth management services. The major portion of the financial wealth in India is still not being managed.
