BL interview . LGT forays into Indian private banking space

India is a large, high-growth economy. This results in a dramatic increase in wealth across the spectrum. However, access to good quality financial advice for families is still difficult. The needs of HNI/UHNI families are also getting complex, and they are looking for a stable, global partner for investment solutions, wealth planning, succession, philanthropy, etc. We are excited to combine that knowledge and experience with a vibrant domestic India platform and offer the same quality service to Indian families.

LGT’s family ownership and governance allow for efficient decision-making and enable a long-term approach. We have a deep commitment to responsible investing, and see tremendous opportunities to share LGT’s experience in long-term, sustainable investment and wealth management with Indian clients. In addition, access to a global platform and expertise is a significant advantage to our team in India. In today’s connected world, for making efficient investment decisions, you need to combine deep Indian expertise with global expertise.

Given the growth drivers, there is a lot of potential to grow organically, but we are open to any interesting inorganic opportunity to expand our business, if we see fit. 

While the principles of private wealth management remain the same, many European clients are second or third-generation clients, while India remains a first or second-generation wealth management market. You need a different focus and approach for it. Nevertheless, our experience with European families in helping them transfer and preserve wealth through multiple generations is of great interest to families in India, too.

India’s wealth management demand is attractive. We strongly feel that there is a gap in services rendered to clients, and a white space for a global-local approach to serving clients. We would like to bring the best of our global practices and platform here while keeping the agility that the Indian market needs at this stage.

In our view, traditional financial analysis delivers the best results when supplemented with insights from sustainability research. While the topic of sustainability has already become mainstream in the institutional sector, private clients still make sustainable investments to a lesser extent. We have a special focus on the sustainability of our investments and also support our customers in investing sustainably.

Philanthropy and engagement have been important components of LGT and our range of services for more than a decade. The initiative is based on the long-standing and successful philanthropic commitment of my family. To professionalize our philanthropic commitment and institutionalize it within LGT, the LGT Venture Philanthropy Foundation was founded in 2007. Since then, the foundation has dispersed $70 million. A key tenet has been the view that successful giving, just like managing a portfolio well, requires strategic clarity, discipline, and diversification. After successfully establishing this approach, LGT began offering clients advice on their philanthropy and on opportunities for grant engagement.