Morgan Stanley is unleashing a major drive to tap India’s domestic wealth next year, hiring 100 private bankers in a bid to manage $1 billion in assets by the end of 2010.
The Wall Street bank, which has offshore private banking operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, is making a push into the Indian domestic wealth market where Citigroup and Merrill Lynch already have huge plans.
“That will be our first buildout on an onshore private wealth business in Asia,” said Leslie Menkes, a Singapore-based MD for the Wall Street bank’s private wealth management arm, while speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit.
Morgan would be competing against Citigroup and Merrill Lynch as the three US banks aggressively try to tap India’s fast-growing private banking market. India had 100,000 millionaires in 2006, up 21% from a year earlier, according to a Merrill Lynch/Capgemini report.
Merrill said in March it plans to expand to cover at least 10 Indian cities in the next three years, from five cities now. A senior Citigroup executive said in February that the bank plans to double the number of bankers dealing with wealthy non-resident and resident Indians from about 100, by the end of 2008.
Citi’s Smith Barney broking unit, which handles clients with assets of at least $1 million, plans to expand from one office now to a presence in 12 Indian cities.
Menkes said Morgan Stanley’s focus would be mainly on rupee-based business targeting wealthy clients who have $5 million in assets. That group makes up 40 percent of India’s 100,000 millionaires.
Internationally it targets clients who have $25 million in assets. “We will open for business in the middle of next year. We will certainly open in Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta and probably in Bangalore,” he said, adding by the end of 2010 it wants to be in eight locations in India. Menkes said the bank has hired four senior executives from Merrill Lynch. REUTERS
The Wall Street bank, which has offshore private banking operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, is making a push into the Indian domestic wealth market where Citigroup and Merrill Lynch already have huge plans.
“That will be our first buildout on an onshore private wealth business in Asia,” said Leslie Menkes, a Singapore-based MD for the Wall Street bank’s private wealth management arm, while speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit.
Morgan would be competing against Citigroup and Merrill Lynch as the three US banks aggressively try to tap India’s fast-growing private banking market. India had 100,000 millionaires in 2006, up 21% from a year earlier, according to a Merrill Lynch/Capgemini report.
Merrill said in March it plans to expand to cover at least 10 Indian cities in the next three years, from five cities now. A senior Citigroup executive said in February that the bank plans to double the number of bankers dealing with wealthy non-resident and resident Indians from about 100, by the end of 2008.
Citi’s Smith Barney broking unit, which handles clients with assets of at least $1 million, plans to expand from one office now to a presence in 12 Indian cities.
Menkes said Morgan Stanley’s focus would be mainly on rupee-based business targeting wealthy clients who have $5 million in assets. That group makes up 40 percent of India’s 100,000 millionaires.
Internationally it targets clients who have $25 million in assets. “We will open for business in the middle of next year. We will certainly open in Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta and probably in Bangalore,” he said, adding by the end of 2010 it wants to be in eight locations in India. Menkes said the bank has hired four senior executives from Merrill Lynch. REUTERS
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