The young and restless in India are displaying their state of mind. Recent protests against corruption in the conduct of competitive exams and the fallout show that the young in India are not to be taken for granted by the old. As they gain experience and wealth, youngsters will get assertive and want to be heard.
From this column’s perspective, their attitude towards wealth will determine the future of wealth outcomes. According to the World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based think tank, $80 trillion of worldwide wealth transfer is slated to happen over the next decade in countries like the US, the UK, Japan, and Europe. An estimated $1.5 trillion (Rs 140 lakh crore) would be transferred in generational wealth in India over the next decade, according to one report published by EY India, a global consulting firm, along with Julius Baer India, an investment bank.
A new survey by Bank of America of the rich in the United States shows that, for the first time, inherited business ownership has surpassed purchased ownership. Turning into a venture capital fund manager attracts more young people in rich households than expanding the traditional family business. Family offices are created mainly by entrepreneurs who built successful companies and want to give structure to their wealth plan. On a smaller scale in a regular household, succession planning could be a registered will or a family agreement. Some other affluent families create trust funds to ensure a smooth transfer of money to the next generation.
As wealth moves from people in their 70s and 80s to people in their 50s and younger, there will be a change in how money is managed. The traditional asset allocation or wealth management rule of thumb is to follow the 60:40 split between equity and fixed-income assets. However, the Bank of America survey finds that future generations are looking beyond that and into private markets and alternative investments. These could be private equity, venture capital, commercial real estate or crypto assets.
Another area of interest for the next generation is longevity. We have seen reports of entrepreneurs using hormone therapies themselves or investing in businesses that create products or services for a long life.
The World Economic Forum survey published late in 2025 observed a marked increase in reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) preferences by Gen X (those in their 40s and 50s) compared to the boomer generation (those in their 60s and 70s).
The young are even more assertive about ESG. If wealth passes further down the generations to millennials (30-40s) and Gen Z (late teens or 20s), investors among them want to influence corporate ESG decisions even more, the survey observed then.
In India too, things may not be different among those who know they will inherit wealth. Their appetite for risk to invest in alternative assets is much more than previous generations.
That is already influencing the way financial services providers offer services to you. Banks are already intensifying their focus on engaging you through relationship managers to move beyond deposits and offer other financial products like investment trusts, commodities and real estate.
Wealth management firms are cropping up in major cities across India. Regulated Portfolio Management Services (PMS) are attracting more rich households than ever before. With artificial intelligence to support, wealth advisory need not be a privilege of the few. You may easily combine an independent financial advisor with an AI tool.
Building your understanding of protecting wealth, growing it steadily, and then passing it on peacefully to your successors seems like a straightforward process. However, it requires you to up your knowledge game. Investing without goals or waiting too long can diminish the wealth effect.
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