India’s top 1% hold $11.6 trn, park $2.7 trn in active assets
77% of their investments parked in illiquid assets
Wealth Composition
♦ India’s total estimated household wealth of $19.6 trn
♦ Top-1% earns 40% of all income
♦ 35,000 UHNIs, each with over $12-mn net worth
♦ These households hold $54-mn assets, of which $24 mn are financial
♦ Collectively, Uber Rich command $4.5-trn financial assets, accounting for 70% of India's total financial wealth
Mumbai: Just $2.7 trillion out of the $11.6 trillion wealth held by India’s richest is parked in actively manageable financial instruments, such as MF, equities, insurance, as per report. A vast majority of India’s richest citizens continue to concentrate their wealth in physical assets such as real estate and gold, according to the latest report by global investment research firm Bernstein, as cited by news agency ANI.
The report sheds light on the composition of wealth among what it calls the ‘Uber Rich’, a group that includes Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI), High Net Worth Individuals (HNI), and the Affluent class.
Despite representing only one per cent of Indian households, these high-income groups control nearly 60 per cent of the country’s total assets and 70 per cent of all financial assets. This elite segment holds a combined wealth of $11.6 trillion out of India’s total estimated household wealth of $19.6 trillion.
The Bernstein report notes that just $2.7 trillion of the wealth held by India’s richest is parked in actively manageable financial instruments, such as mutual funds, equities, insurance, and deposits.
This subset, referred to as the Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), is what wealth managers typically cater to.
The remaining $8.9 trillion is tied up in non-serviceable assets, including physical real estate, gold, unlisted promoter equity, and cash holdings. This lopsided asset distribution underscores the limited penetration of structured wealth management services in the country.
Rising Demand for Wealth Managers The findings suggest a massive untapped opportunity for wealth managers and investment advisors in India, especially as the affluent class begins to look beyond traditional investments. Bernstein observes that a significant portion of financial wealth is still unmanaged, even among the richest households.
Wealth inequality in India far outpaces income inequality
According to the report, The top-1 per cent earns 40 per cent of all income, while the ‘Rest of India’ holds only a small fraction of both income and assets. This widening gap highlights how wealth inequality in India far outpaces income inequality.
Bernstein estimates that India has around 35,000 UHNI households, each with a net worth exceeding $12 million. On average, these households hold $54 million in assets, of which $24 million are financial. Collectively, the Uber Rich command $4.5 trillion in financial assets, accounting for 70 per cent of the nation’s total financial wealth. As India’s economy expands and formal financial markets deepen, the potential for unlocking this concentrated, under-managed wealth pool could redefine the future of investment advisory services in the country.
