LC Ideas: Views & Insights
A structural shift in India’s family office landscape
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India’s family office ecosystem is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation. Spurred by liquidity events and a generational mindset shift, wealthy families are moving beyond the traditional preservation-focused approach to embrace more institutionalised, globally diversified investment strategies. In this conversation with LC IDEAs: Views & Insights, Sumegh Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director - India at Lighthouse Canton, shared more on this shift and the five key trends he sees when working with families.
LIQUIDITY AS A CATALYST
One of the biggest enablers of change in India’s family office landscape has been liquidity. India led the global IPO charts for the second consecutive year in 2024, recording 338 IPOs—a 44% rise from 2023—and nearly tripling proceeds to USD 20.99 billion. These liquidity events, including Offer-for-Sale (OFS) transactions and secondary exits, have created a surge of investable capital for many promoters and family principals.
“Many promoters have, for the first time, access to a substantial pool of personal investable capital,” Bhatia noted. “This shift is prompting a fundamental rethink of wealth—moving towards more strategic and institutional approaches.”
FROM PRESERVATION TO PERFORMANCE
Taking a step back Bhatia explained, “Families broadly fall into two categories—those anchored by an operating business, and those without one.”
Those with operating businesses typically adopt a “preservation-plus-growth” approach. Their focus is on simplicity, stability, and continuity. “They prefer to keep things simple and are not inclined to make too many changes,” he explained.
However, for families without active businesses, investing itself has been becoming the primary business. “The amount of capital is now substantial enough to warrant their time and attention,” Bhatia shared. These families are setting up formal family offices, hiring professionals, and building structured frameworks to manage their wealth.
What is particularly interesting is how the learning curve is impacting their risk appetite. Initially cautious, families are gradually exploring more complex strategies once they have enough understanding and confidence. “Over time, they evolved into allocators who are looking to go beyond the stable returns of passive portfolios—they want alpha,” Bhatia added.
Importantly, unlike business ventures that could be hard to walk away from, financial markets offered the comfort of liquidity and exit options. That combination of flexibility and growing fluency has been pushing families into newer, and more innovative investing approaches.
VENTURING INTO THE BLUE OCEAN
This appetite for alpha is also manifesting clearly in the private markets space. Families are increasingly seeking “blue ocean” strategies—investments in uncharted, innovation-driven areas that offered high-reward potential and were often underexplored.
“There is a growing cohort of investors exploring private market opportunities,” Bhatia shared, “whether strategically aligned with their businesses or aiming for high-risk, high-reward themes.”
But this is not just financial investing. For many families—especially those with entrepreneurial backgrounds—private markets are becoming a form of business investing. They bring decades of operational experience, domain knowledge, and networks that can be leveraged to support founders and scale businesses.
“This gives them a natural edge,” Bhatia explained. “They understand the challenges of building businesses. They can offer more than capital—they can open doors, provide strategic guidance, and help navigate industry dynamics.”
These conversations often also find support at home.
The older generation, with their business-first mindset, resonates with the idea of their children backing or building businesses. It is aligned with family values and cultural narratives—what is discussed at the dinner table, how decisions are made, and how legacy is thought about.
As a result, private markets are not just an asset class—they are becoming an extension of a family’s entrepreneurial DNA. Family offices are also collaborating more—with each other and with institutional funds—creating a network effect that iss amplifying access and opportunity in this space.
“The last few years of bull market returns in the private space has added fuel to this shift,” noted Bhatia. “Families are doubling down—not impulsively, but as a structured approach to long-term wealth creation.”
GLOBAL MINDSETS, GLOBAL PORTFOLIOS
With wealth creation and wealth transfer accelerating, the next generation is bringing global ambitions into the mix. “They are leveraging their international education and global networks to build globally relevant portfolios and pursue cross-border opportunities,” Bhatia said.
While fund managers provide exposure to overseas assets, global portfolio construction is also being shaped by structural decisions within families. Post-COVID, flexibility across jurisdictions has become a priority. Families are increasingly setting up structures where one or more members relocate to tax-efficient jurisdictions such as Dubai.
“It is often a practical move,” said Bhatia. “It enables regulatory flexibility, supports offshore investing, and aligns with lifestyle aspirations.”
This structuring allows decision-making to take place closer to the capital, while also opening doors to new opportunities. And while the next generation is often leading the charge, older family members are supportive when they see purpose and thought behind the globalisation push.
The motivation here is twofold—wealth preservation through diversification, and future readiness through global integration. This isn’t transactional; it’s strategic.
REDEFINING THE ROLE OF WEALTH
At the heart of all these shifts lies a deeper transformation in the meaning and purpose of wealth. Families are no longer just managing assets—they are managing identity, legacy, and continuity.
“The fundamental question many are asking is: How do I want to allocate my time?” said Bhatia. “And how do I bring continuity and structure to this wealth across generations?”
India’s legacy of joint family businesses and shared ownership creates unique complexities—around governance, control, and succession. As a result, institutionalisation has become key. Family offices are being set up not just to manage money, but to professionalise it—to bring transparency, accountability, and process.
“What defines a family office versus just being ultra-high-net-worth?” Bhatia asked. “It is the process. It is the structure. It is putting order to the chaos.”
This growing need for collaboration and structure is also giving rise to a strong ecosystem. Family office forums, WhatsApp groups, and peer investment platforms are enabling better communication, faster information flow, and collective learning.
“As the community evolves, it is helping each other learn,” Bhatia observed. “And that is making the journey more sustainable.”
Whether the capital was realised recently or decades ago, families are now willing to give time and energy to wealth management. That intentionality is creating a new generation of active, informed, and institutionalised capital allocators—ready to underwrite long-term opportunities with both intellect and empathy.
