India’s ultra rich chase global growth, but asset preservation still tops agenda: EY report

The wealthy in India is planning new paths in managing global wealth, mixing ambition with caution as family offices are increasingly viewing beyond the local borders. Vision from the Ey-Julius Baer report, a playing book in the Indian Family Office, reveals a sharp rise in border investment strategies, even with asset protection is still a source of concern for many of the richest families in the country.

Over the past six years, the ecosystem of the Family Office in India has exploded from only 45 entities to approximately 300 entities, reflecting the ranks of the increasing individuals of networks (UHNIS). Today, more than 13,000 Indian families have a wealth of more than $ 30 million – a number expected to reach 19,000 by 2028. However, even with the growth of their financial muscles, about 25 % of family offices still naming wealth as its main goal, which leads to a cautious mentality among volatile markets.

“This is a transformative era for family offices in India,” the report notes. “While the appetite for advanced investments and global exposure is high, the protection of the current wealth is still not negotiable for many families.”

Global diversification has emerged as a major lever to balance growth and protection. Indian family offices are increasingly investing in private stocks, investment capital abroad, real estate in Europe, and investment funds throughout Asia. Organizational empowerment factors such as Gift City – a special financial area that provides tax incentives and easier global investment methods – stimulates these external flows.

Data from the Indian Reserve Bank confirm this direction, with external transfers under the LERS (LRS) plan, which touches nearly 23 billion dollars in the first nine months of fiscal year 25, just less than the previous year despite the universal uncertainty.

The motives for going to the world vary. For some families, international diversification provides a hedge against local market fluctuations or currency risks. For others, it comes to seizing opportunities in emerging sectors, obtaining shares in innovative startups, or accessing stable income flows through real assets such as infrastructure boxes abroad.

However, even amid the pursuit of higher returns, a conservative line lasted. The report highlights how to consolidate family offices to traditional targets such as transferring wealth between generations, governance structures, and asset protection strategies. Tools such as private confidence, family constitutions, and the increasingly designed legal frameworks are used to ensure the smooth caliphate and maintain the heritage of the family.

Interestingly, while many family offices turn into the origins of growth-including alternative investments such as private credit and long strategies-most of which are still aware of the risks of focus. A quarter of the family offices included in the survey give priority explicitly to preserve the assets of aggressive expansion, indicating the preference of stable and anti -risk returns on speculative plays.

Vocational technology and experience are also the reshaping of the sector. Digital platforms, advanced analyzes, and even the exploratory uses of Amnesty International help family offices in the complex portfolios that extend to multiple judicial states. However, cybersecurity fears remain a decisive axis, as family offices deal with sensitive financial and personal statements.

In essence, the wealthy in India rewrites the rules of wealth management. They venture with confidence in the global markets, but always with a fixed eye to secure the wealth that it got hard for the same and that fed this new era of Indian prosperity. For these families, diversification is not just a strategy – it has become a necessity to maintain wealth in an unpredictable world.