The brokerage noted a sharp rise in its affluent user base, which now constitutes a growing share of total customer assets.
According to Groww, the segment is expanding rapidly, showing 52% year-on-year growth compared to 20% for overall active users.
These investors are turning to specialised wealth products such as Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Portfolio Management Services (PMS), and advisory solutions, signaling a likely structural shift in the way India’s affluent are managing their portfolios.
It’s on the back of these new flock of investors that the Dalal Street debutant appears to be eyeing an expansion of its wealth offering. Though, in its Q2FY26 results, Groww said that its wealth offering is still at a nascent stage.
Rising affluent investors: Beyond traditional strategies
These numbers coincide with broader trends observed by HSBC in its 2025 Affluent Investor Snapshot.According to the report, Indian affluent investors are taking a more strategic and forward-looking approach to wealth management. Sandeep Batra, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC India, said on CNBC, “There is a notable shift among affluent individuals in India toward a more strategic approach to portfolio management. There is a growing emphasis on making money work harder over extended time horizons.”
The report highlights a rising appetite for diversified portfolios, particularly through alternatives and managed solutions. Within Indian portfolios, gold allocations increased from 8% to 15% over the past year, while alternative investments and multi-asset solutions are gaining traction. Affluent Indians are also exploring international diversification, with the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE emerging as preferred destinations.
The EY–Julius Baer report on India’s family offices shows similar trends. The study found that more than half of surveyed family offices have allocated over 50% of their portfolios to growth-oriented assets, with private equity, venture capital, and other alternative assets becoming increasingly prominent.
Surabhi Marwah, Co-leader, Private Tax and Partner at EY India, said: “India’s family office ecosystem is at an inflection point where wealth preservation alone is no longer enough. Families now seek efficiency, transparency, and global access, all of which require a more structured approach.”
FDs losing ground to higher-yielding instruments
The shift toward specialised wealth products is also being driven by a decline in the popularity of traditional bank deposits. RBI data shows that the share of households in bank term deposits fell from 50.54% at the end of FY20 to 45.77% in FY25, while mutual fund accounts grew rapidly, with assets under management tripling to Rs 69.50 trillion by April 2025.
Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Bank of Baroda, said: “It is to do with markets but not necessarily due to demographics—this has been the trend of households moving from deposits to mutual funds.”
IDFC Bank’s chief economist, Gaura Sengupta, noted that the move reflects a growing appetite for alternative financial instruments among Indian households.
The RBI also found that 17.8% of Indian households invested in risky assets in 2022, up from 15.7% in 2019, reflecting a shift toward higher-yielding, albeit riskier, investment avenues. While savings deposits remain stable at around 77%, investors are increasingly channeling capital into equities, mutual funds, and insurance products rather than keeping funds idle in traditional savings vehicles.
Alternative investments: The crown jewel of new portfolios
Private equity, AIFs, and PMS are emerging as cornerstones of affluent portfolios. According to Groww, high-growth products increased their share of revenue in Q2, with Stocks up 4 percentage points year-on-year, Margin Trading Facility up 4 points, and interest-based income led by Lending Against Securities (LAS) up 2 points.
Sandeep Batra, in his comments to CNBC, added, “The financial landscape for affluent Indian investors is undergoing a shift. No longer content with traditional strategies centered on safety and liquidity, they are embracing a more strategic, forward-looking approach to wealth management.”
Globally, younger investors—especially Gen Z and millennials—are leading this trend toward alternatives. In India, affluent investors have reduced cash allocations to just 15%, the lowest in Asia, and are exploring exposure to private markets, multi-asset strategies, and overseas investments.
EY estimates that India’s alternative investment industry, including PMS and AIFs, could exceed Rs 100 lakh crore in assets under management by 2030, aided by regulatory easing and favorable tax treatment.