India’s wealthiest households are altering the best way they make investments. Household workplaces, which historically centered on equities, fastened earnings, actual property and the household enterprise, are placing a a lot bigger a part of their portfolios into non-public markets and different options.
The Julius Baer-EY 2026 “Indian household workplace playbook: Now, subsequent and past” says that 40–45% of allocations in lots of household workplaces are actually directed in direction of options. These embrace non-public fairness (PE), enterprise capital (VC), non-public credit score, different funding funds (AIFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure funding trusts (InvITs).
This doesn’t imply that each rich Indian household is placing 40–45% of its whole wealth into these property. The report particularly refers to allocations in lots of household workplaces.
So, what precisely are India’s wealthy shopping for exterior the traditional portfolio?
From wealth preservation to wealth creation
The change begins with a shift in funding philosophy.
Earlier, Indian household workplaces had been largely centered on preserving wealth. Their portfolios had been concentrated in home equities, fastened earnings and actual property. Cash was additionally typically reinvested into the household enterprise. The method was extra conservative and relationship-driven.
The report says that is altering. As wealth swimming pools have grown, household workplaces are more and more taking a look at wealth creation and lively capital deployment, moderately than solely wealth preservation.
Debt devices, the report says, provide restricted scope for returns. This has inspired household workplaces to have a look at non-public credit score, PE and world alternatives for greater risk-adjusted returns and long-term worth creation.
Adil Chacko, Government Director, Anand Rathi Wealth Restricted, says the rise in wealth and the altering profile of rich households are vital causes behind this shift.
“Most vital level to think about is generational shift in funding philosophy, from wealth preservation in direction of wealth creation and lively capital deployment,” Chacko stated.
He additionally factors to the expansion in India’s UHNI inhabitants and the massive swimming pools of capital created by means of IPO monetisation. The report says India now has greater than 19,000 ultra-high-net-worth people, outlined as these with property above $30 million, and this quantity may cross 25,000 by 2031.
The place is the cash going?
1. Personal fairness and enterprise capital
PE and VC are among the many greatest beneficiaries of the shift.
The report says devoted allocations of 10–20% or extra in direction of PE and VC are more and more frequent. These investments cowl sectors resembling know-how, healthcare, renewables, client companies and selective world actual property platforms.
Household workplaces are additionally shifting past merely investing in PE and VC funds.
They’re more and more investing immediately in startups, unlisted development corporations and co-investing alongside PE and VC funds. The report says this offers them better strategic involvement and entry to early-stage worth creation alternatives.
Chacko says PE and VC give household workplaces entry to non-public companies and high-growth corporations earlier than they turn into totally accessible by means of public markets.
“For first-generation entrepreneur-led household workplaces, this area additionally supplies unique entry like co-investment rights and enterprise introductions,” he stated.
The report additionally highlights the rising significance of co-investments. Household workplaces are negotiating for co-investment rights relying on the scale of their funding. This may help with diversification and decrease price drag.
2. Personal credit score
Personal credit score is one other space gaining consideration.
The report says household workplaces are taking a look at non-public credit score as demand for capital rises. The broader different asset market in India is estimated at $400 billion, together with $156 billion in SEBI-registered AIFs, with the remaining coming from offshore autos, household workplaces and unlisted buildings. The report cites an estimate that this market may develop to greater than $2 trillion by 2034.
Personal credit score can be turning into a part of the bigger transfer in direction of options. It permits household workplaces to take part in lending and credit score alternatives exterior conventional bank-led buildings.
However this isn’t merely a seek for greater returns. The shift additionally comes with extra complexity.
The dangers are greater too
A much bigger allocation to options could make a portfolio tougher to handle.
One of many greatest dangers is illiquidity.
PE, VC and several other AIF methods can lock up capital for years. Chacko says buyers should be conscious that some PE and VC investments can have a five- to 10-year capital lock-in.
“That makes it troublesome to entry capital when required,” he stated.
The report additionally factors out that funding choices have turn into far more complicated. Household workplaces now have to judge PE, VC, actual property, hedge funds, digital infrastructure, local weather know-how and different different property. Every has its personal cycle, danger profile and due-diligence necessities.
That makes supervisor choice vital.
Chacko says buyers mustn’t have a look at the anticipated return alone. They need to look at the lock-in interval, liquidity wants, valuation methodology, leverage, underlying property, reporting requirements, charges and the fund supervisor’s observe document throughout market cycles.
One other difficulty is valuation.
Not like listed shares, non-public property are usually not repeatedly marked to market. Chacko says valuations can stay at reported ranges till the underlying funding is definitely bought.
“Traders ought to subsequently focus extra on precise money distributions moderately than relying solely on reported NAV,” he stated.
Transparency is one other concern. Personal-market investments usually have much less frequent disclosures than listed investments, whereas outcomes can differ considerably throughout fund managers.
This implies a big options portfolio wants stronger governance {and professional} oversight.
It’s not nearly PE and VC
The shift in family-office portfolios is broader than PE, VC and personal credit score.
The report says rich households are additionally investing in AIFs, REITs and InvITs. It additionally identifies long-short funds among the many options being thought of by refined Indian HNIs and household workplaces.
There’s additionally a rising deal with thematic investing.
The report says youthful family-office leaders are taking a look at areas resembling AI, local weather know-how, renewable power, digital infrastructure, power storage, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, cloud companies and information centres.
This is a vital change from the outdated family-office mannequin.
As a substitute of merely investing in an asset and ready for it to understand, some households are utilizing their enterprise data and networks to determine sectors and firms the place they’ve an edge.
The report says household workplaces are more and more performing as long-term non-public capital suppliers. They’re investing as restricted companions in PE and VC funds and likewise making direct investments in late-stage ventures.
They’re additionally trying exterior India
One other a part of the technique is geographical diversification.
The report says Indian household workplaces are allocating capital abroad to cut back focus danger, entry deeper non-public markets, spend money on areas resembling AI, semiconductors, local weather initiatives and robotics, and handle foreign money publicity. Some households are additionally organising abroad workplaces and native funding groups.
So, the “different” portfolio of a rich Indian household might not essentially be restricted to an Indian PE fund or an AIF. It will possibly embrace world private-market funds, direct investments and different abroad alternatives.
The report additionally notes that initiatives resembling GIFT Metropolis are creating home pathways for outbound investments.
The youthful era is altering the portfolio
There’s one other drive behind this transformation — the following era.
The report says round 20% of high-net-worth people in India are beneath 40. Many have studied overseas, constructed world networks and are extra immediately concerned in funding choices. They’re additionally searching for better transparency and measurable influence.
That is altering what household capital is getting used for.
The report says next-generation members might not at all times wish to be part of or replicate the household’s authentic enterprise. As a substitute, they might wish to spend money on know-how, local weather options, healthcare, media, influence investments or philanthropy.
Chacko additionally sees this generational shift as vital.
He says youthful generations are extra comfy investing immediately in companies, collaborating as LPs in PE and VC funds and searching for co-investment alternatives.
That additionally offers them entry to rising themes the place alternatives in listed markets could also be restricted or might emerge solely later, he stated.
The household workplace itself is turning into extra skilled
There’s another change that sits behind the funding shift: how the cash is managed.
The report says household workplaces are more and more hiring devoted CIOs, CFOs and danger professionals. Greater than 70% in a cited examine acknowledged the necessity for governance-led processes. Dashboards, efficiency metrics and formal audit trails are additionally turning into extra vital.
That is vital as a result of options require extra due diligence and monitoring than a easy portfolio of listed shares or financial institution deposits.
The report says household workplaces are shifting in direction of extra formal funding coverage statements, asset allocation frameworks and structured assessment processes. The emphasis is shifting from relationship-driven investing to process-backed decision-making.
For rich households, subsequently, the transfer into options is just not merely about chasing greater returns. It is usually about constructing the methods wanted to handle a way more complicated portfolio.
What does this imply for buyers?
The largest takeaway is that India’s wealthiest households are diversifying past conventional property, however they’re doing so with a really completely different danger capability and time horizon.
A 40–45% allocation to options shouldn’t be handled as a template for unusual buyers. The report itself describes household workplaces as long-term capital suppliers with the flexibility to take a position throughout non-public markets, direct investments and world alternatives.
And options include dangers which are very completely different from these of listed equities or financial institution deposits.
As Chacko places it, options needs to be assessed not simply on the return they promise, however on liquidity, lock-in, valuation, leverage, underlying property, charges, reporting and the observe document of the supervisor.
For India’s richest households, the portfolio is more and more turning into a mixture of non-public fairness, enterprise capital, non-public credit score, AIFs, REITs, InvITs, direct investments and world property, with a rising deal with themes resembling AI, healthcare, renewable power, semiconductors and digital infrastructure.
The larger change is probably this: India’s household workplaces are shifting from being passive custodians of wealth to turning into lively buyers and personal capital suppliers. The report says this evolution is being pushed by rising wealth, a brand new era of buyers and the seek for diversification and long-term worth creation.
Disclaimer: This story relies on the Julius Baer-EY 2026 report, “Indian household workplace playbook: Now, subsequent and past”. The funding patterns mentioned relate to household workplaces and rich households and shouldn’t be handled as funding recommendation or as a advisable asset allocation for particular person buyers. Different investments can contain excessive danger, restricted liquidity, lengthy lock-in intervals and valuation dangers.
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