Mumbai, May 21, 2019: According to the Attitude Survey conducted by Knight Frank, 46% of Indian ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) are likely to increase their investment to Private Equity (PE) class in 2019. The Indian UHNWIs are expected to allocate 9% higher resources to PE investors at 47% compared to the year 2018, when they allocated 37% to such investor class.

Globally, 31% of survey respondents said that they are going to increase allocation to PE in 2019, a higher percentage when compared with 25% citing to have increased allocation in 2018. The positive attitude of UHNWIs towards investments in the asset class has also gone up in Asia by 26%, expecting an increase when compared to 20% who cited an increase in allocation in 2018. Knight Frank conducted the survey to map the investment sentiment of UHNWIs towards Private Equity as an asset class in 2019.

“Indian super rich are progressively looking at exploring alternative investment avenues for wealth creation. PE offers a structured investment option for UHNWIs looking for long term. In India, where the volume of wealth is rising the fastest globally, UHNWIs in the country are expected to decrease cash exposure and increase their allocation to PE in 2019 as local investors grow in sophistication. In the Indian market, there is a strong bend towards Equities and Private Equities,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman & MD, Knight Frank India.

Knight Frank said, the allocation of resources by Indian UHNWIs to PE is equivalent to the allocation they have made in Gold at 4 per cent. Also, the number of respondents planning to increase their exposure to PE (46 %) is also the highest in Asia and the number is fourth largest at the global level.