Wealth Managers Target Expat Indians

Banks and wealth managers are moving to target the
1.1 million expat Indians in the UK worth about £100 billion,
who are becoming a growing investment force here and worldwide.

According to a survey by financial analysis group
Datamonitor, 72% of European wealth managers polled described the non-resident
Indian (NRI) client base as marginally to very attractive as an area
to focus on.

Datamonitor claims that the perception of NRIs preferring
to invest mainly in India has been over-emphasized, and that such investments
only account for 15% to 25% of NRI investment portfolios.
The niche group is described as having strong interests in emerging
markets, offshore funds and investments, real estate , as well as tax
advisory and private equity investments.

There are estimated to be 6.2 million Indian people
worth an estimated $500 billion living away from home, with almost 20%
of the expat population based in the UK. ‘Non-resident Indians are investing
beyond their homeland and wealth managers report strong demand for offshore
funds and developed market equity funds,’ said Koelle Boyce, financial
services analyst for Datamonitor. ‘Much of the NRI wealth has been generated
through entrepreneurial activity and, as a result, there is significant
demand for business banking services, as well as investment banking,
succession planning and estate planning services.’

The NRI demographic is being courted in the UK and
overseas by groups such as DSP Merrill Lynch, Sociètè
Gènèrale and ABN Amro, all of whom offer services such
as specialist property investment, service portfolios and resource centres.

Wealth managers are pursuing strategies such as forming
joint ventures with Indian firms and development or expansion of onshore
operations in India. UK fund manager Fidelity recently entered into
an alliance with Indian bank ICICI to distribute its offshore funds
within India.

Photo: Cantilever howrah bridge^ kolkatta – panoramio by rajaraman sundaram, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.