Neo Group is aiming for the gold star in wealth management. And for that, the four-year-old upstart is doing what its older and larger rivals aren’t: luring bankers with juicy returns.

The company is on a hiring spree. Its target is to double the overall headcount of wealth managers by onboarding at least 70 more in the current financial year.

“That number wouldn’t have mattered if [its target consumers] were the mass-affluent,” said a wealth-management analyst. Neo’s clients are anything but that.

The company, valued at around $230 million and backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners and Japanese financial-services company MUFG, caters to the creamiest layer of investors—the top 0.01% of the population—with at least Rs 50 crore worth of assets.

The Indian wealth-management industry seems to be on a rollEconomic TimesWealth management and the triple multiplier effect. As of March 2024, companies in the space managed over $1 trillion worth of assets. That’s expectedMoneycontrolDemand for wealth-management services to more than double in 5 years: Deloitte to hit $2.3 trillion by FY29. The demand for well-qualified professionals is through the roof, but there isn’tHubbisIndian Private Wealth Management: The Hunt for Talent enough talent. Some firms are even turningEconomic TimesHDFC Bank taps retail bankers as wealth managers amid talent crunch to retail bankers to keep up.

It’s the time

International banks—the likes of Standard Chartered, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and HSBC—have also doubled down on their respective wealth teams in India, recognising the opportunity in the sector

It’s the time  //  International banks—the likes of Standard Chartered, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and HSBC—have also doubled down on their respective wealth teams in India, recognising the opportunity in the sector

It’s here that Neo, a relatively newer and smaller player, is stealing a march over others.