Swiss private bank Julius Baer is gearing up to launch three more Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in India by the end of this calendar year, which would be much higher than its maiden fund of Rs 300 crore.
“The overwhelming response to our maiden India Equity Fund-I gave us a clear understanding of the growth of alternatives in the overall investment mix preferred by our ultra high networth individual (UHNI) clients. In the last five years, India’s alternative investment industry – Portfolio Management Services and AIF – has more than doubled the mutual fund industry,” Julius Baer India CEO Umang Papneja told FE in an interaction.
“We believe, this surge is fuelled by increased interest from UHNIs in the country. AIFs have witnessed 10-fold growth in the recent years, emerging as a preferred investment avenue in India,” he said, adding, the corpus of new AIFs are yet to be finalised.
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Julius Baer received a category-III AIF licence in 2023, following which it raised more than Rs 300 crore by January 31, through its maiden fund.
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The largest foreign wealth manager in India, Julius Baer had embarked on a five-year transformation strategy in India in 2022. Under the strategy, the firm intended to triple its assets under management (AUM), more than double the number of clients and spread its wings to newer cities, to further consolidate its market share.
“The strategy is on track,” Papneja said, adding, under the strategy the firm is “emphasising investment” in people, products, operations, technology and infrastructure.
“The team size has grown, and we are currently more than 200 employees in India. Noteworthy is a 12% rise in relationship manager hires this year. Our strategy is to have an efficient hub and spoke model – a strong network of relationship managers spread across the country with a deep understanding of the local culture and environment with subject experts in the hub servicing clients in tier-II and III cities,” Papneja added.
