MUMBAI (Diya TV) — Over 20% of India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) intend to emigrate, reflecting an increasing trend among the nation’s richest citizens, a new survey reveals. The most recent Top of the Pyramid (TOP) Report by Kotak Private Banking, commissioned by Ernst & Young LLP (EY), revealed that a fifth of UHNIs are either relocating or planning to relocate. The main reasons for the move are business growth, lifestyle desires, and international investment opportunities. Executives display the strongest desire to emigrate, while entrepreneurs and inheritors stay in India.
Of those who intend to emigrate, 69% identify easier doing business as the primary reason. India’s robust economic growth has driven an initial public offering (IPO) boom, with the nation taking the lead in global markets with 268 IPOs in 2024. Investor sentiment is upbeat, with UHNIs investing 32% of their portfolios in equities, preferring domestic as well as U.S. markets.
Commercial real estate has also emerged as a significant asset class, with 45% of UHNIs investing in the segment because of better yields. Investments in health and wellness have been on a growth spurt post-pandemic, with more than 90% of UHNIs focusing on preventive medicine, lifestyle changes, and wellness tourism.
States such as Uttarakhand and Kerala have seen an uptick in the number of affluent visitors to these destinations. And beyond investments, 26% of India’s UHNIs want to be seen as innovators of change.
“With the country’s economic ecosystem changing, our report demonstrates how UHNIs are broadening their portfolios and accepting both national and international assets, positioning their spending to substantially increase by 2028,” said Kotak Private Banking’s CEO, Oisharya Das. The report points out that there has been a drastic transformation in the finance and lifestyle agenda of India’s high net-worth individuals with the shifting nature of the world.
