India’s Millionaire Surge Signals Shifting Investment Priorities

India’s economic ascent continues to mint millionaires at a record pace. In the past year alone, the country added more than 33,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), reflecting not only robust domestic wealth creation but also an evolving investor mindset.

What’s particularly noteworthy is how these affluent individuals are reshaping their portfolios. Traditional assets such as equities, real estate, and fixed income still dominate, but there’s a clear pivot underway. Alternative investments — once viewed as fringe or speculative — are steadily gaining ground. Today, roughly 15% of Indian HNWI portfolios are allocated to alternatives, a category that includes private equity, hedge funds, and notably, cryptocurrencies.

This shift reflects broader global trends: in a low-yield, high-volatility environment, investors are seeking diversification, inflation hedges, and asymmetric returns. Cryptocurrencies, despite regulatory ambiguities and price swings, are being embraced as both speculative opportunities and long-term stores of value, particularly by younger wealth holders.

India’s wealthy are no longer content with the conservatism of past generations. Their growing appetite for alternatives suggests increasing financial sophistication — and a willingness to embrace risk in the pursuit of outsized returns.

- Jishnu Chatterjee,

June 7, 2025.
Author is a Jack-of-All trades. He believes that specialization is for insects. Author is a public servant, a Linux evangelist, chess enthusiast and a long-term investor.