From Chasing Opportunities to Compounding Legacy | Rohit Sarin | Wealth Architects

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]You obviously cater to the super rich.

[00:00:03]How is their thinking and their approach to wealth evolving?

[00:00:07]>> Their idea is how can I continue to compound the family legacy?

[00:00:10]>> We've also seen this rise of family offices, right?

[00:00:13]>> Yeah. This is a definitely a pattern which one has seen over the last 5 6 7 years of family offices coming up. But the concept is so very powerful in the continuity of the family legacy that it is being [music] adopted by almost all families which is coming into sizable wealth.

[00:00:28]>> Tata Mutual Fund >> [music] >> presents Wealth Architects in association with Moneycontrol.

[00:00:36]>> Hello and welcome to Wealth Architects, an exclusive podcast series presented by Tata Mutual Fund in association with Moneycontrol. I'm your host Surabhi Upadhyay. This series decodes the ideas, strategies, and structural shifts that are shaping the future of wealth management in India. The theme of today's episode is the institutionalization of Indian family wealth.

[00:00:57]Over the last decade, India has seen a sharp rise in entrepreneurial wealth and the emergence of sophisticated family offices. Along with this, we have seen the rise in global investing opportunities. As the country creates unprecedented new wealth, affluent families are increasingly adopting institutional approaches to investing that are driven by governance, diversification, succession planning, behavioral discipline, and long-term capital preservation. To talk in depth about this theme, joining us today is Rohit Sarin, who's the co-founder of Client Associates, one of India's leading wealth management and family office firms. With more than three decades of experience across private banking, wealth advisory, and family office management, Rohit has had a front-row view of how India's wealthy families and entrepreneurs have evolved.

[00:01:47]Rohit, welcome to this conversation. I'm so glad that you're here with us today.

[00:01:51]>> Pleasure is all mine, Surabhi. Thank you for having me here.

[00:01:54]>> So, I want to start by telling our viewers that Rohit is someone who thought of wealth management where wealth wealth was limited to putting money in a fixed deposit literally back in the day, right? At the turn of the millennium. So Rohit, let's start by kind of mapping your journey in this whole you know business in this field of advisory and wealth management. You were a banker earlier.

[00:02:17]>> That's right.

[00:02:18]>> What made you think about process-oriented proper wealth management?

[00:02:24]>> Yeah, I know great questions for me to begin with. So, you know, I'd worked with three banks back in the day in 2002 over a period of 7 years and that time there was very little wealth management which was happening in India.

[00:02:38]The wealth management market was completely dominated by multinational banks and Citibank was the market leader.

[00:02:46]And I was an RM in you know working with one of these multinational banks.

[00:02:50]So, I think one of the things which drives entrepreneurs is to solve a problem or there is a market gap. And at that point in time the way wealth management was happening the customer was last in the queue.

[00:03:02]Nobody was thinking about the customer.

[00:03:05]And two things which I could see that point in time is that India as it will become as the economy will grow it will become more affluent. Society will have a new problem to solve which is to manage that influence.

[00:03:16]And secondly, if nobody is paying attention to the customer, there is a clearly it was a visible market gap and opportunity to address. So, I think that was a trigger that there was very little wealth management happening and there was the demand for that was going to increase.

[00:03:30]So, I thought why not step out and address it.

[00:03:32]>> Oh, okay. How interesting. So, 2002 you you know you co-founded the firm Client Associates and here we are sitting and talking in 2026.

[00:03:42]>> Yeah.

[00:03:43]>> I am sure you have seen so much change across this mindsets, the marketplace, people and the whole approach to money.

[00:03:51]So, tell us about that.

[00:03:53]>> Yeah, I think 24 years is a long time.

[00:03:55]It's almost generational and thankfully, I think India's wealth market along with India's economy has really compounded in maturity, as I would say.

[00:04:04]Back in the day in early 2000s, you know, the market was driven by the customer expectation was very opportunistic.

[00:04:10]You know, when it comes to equities, maybe give me the tip or the best opportunity to invest in. Everybody was looking for that smart quick opportunity which you can can share in his friend circle that too. How smart am I?

[00:04:21]And I think over the last two decades, what has happened is two things have happened.

[00:04:26]A, the customer is also matured on the job by investing, by learning through mistakes. And secondly, the scale of wealth in India has grown.

[00:04:32]>> Mhm.

[00:04:32]>> And I think that has brought behavioral shift. Aided by better education, better familiarity, more awareness. And secondly, the responsibility, the greater responsibility of managing perhaps a family legacy. So, instead of chasing opportunities, the thinking has shifted to compounding family's legacy.

[00:04:51]>> Ah, how interesting. And then there is just the wealth effect itself, right? I mean, you would I one wouldn't have thought maybe 25 years ago that Indians would be spending the way they are spending and you know, uh foreign vacations are a thing of uh of almost need, >> Yeah.

[00:05:06]>> you know, uh these days and it's it's percolating down to the middle class itself. So, what is your take on just the sheer wealth generation and the wealth effect that we've seen over the last two, three decades?

[00:05:18]>> No, very I pick up on the very interesting observation you made that the foreign holidays is almost a need, >> Yeah.

[00:05:24]>> which used to be a want.

[00:05:25]>> class India, yeah.

[00:05:26]>> Yeah, yeah. So, it is transition from a want to a need and I think that is clearly one of the visible aspects of, you know, wealth effect. You know, when more affluence comes into the society, >> Mhm.

[00:05:37]>> then society wants to express its aspirations by utilizing that wealth and we are seeing that in increase in travel, whether it's domestic or international. We are seeing that, you know, people wanting, especially post COVID, moving to bigger homes, better homes, people upgrading their lifestyles. Of course, health care and education was always on the topmost priority for Indians even 25 years back.

[00:05:59]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:59]>> But then, if possible, then parents want to give their children education even in schools, international schools.

[00:06:06]>> Yeah.

[00:06:07]>> Sending for college education outside India. These are all visible forms of wealth effect in India.

[00:06:13]>> Yeah, it's it's so I mean, I think uh uh the uh you know, people's need need to be more at sync or in sync with the world at large, whether it's education, whether it's exposure, travel, so on and so forth. So, I want to understand um you obviously cater to the super rich.

[00:06:30]Wealth management for family offices, for uh you know, um traditional business families.

[00:06:36]Uh how is their thinking and their approach to wealth evolving?

[00:06:42]>> Yeah, so so when we started even 24 years back, so that point in time, the pocket of wealth used to lie with a very small segment in the society, which were these generational business families, industrial families, you know, which had that. And um I think their thinking has been very, very different because they have seen wealth over a long period of time, over generations.

[00:07:03]So, I think their thinking is that, you know, this is like a family legacy which has to be protected. Because see, they don't they don't have a need to get rich.

[00:07:11]>> Yeah.

[00:07:12]>> Their key goal is to stay rich.

[00:07:14]>> Yeah.

[00:07:14]>> Right? So, their idea is not that, you know, I can make that extra buck. Their idea is how can I continue to compound the family legacy? So, I think that is more driven by a more system thinking, more systemic approach, more values-led.

[00:07:28]>> Okay.

[00:07:28]>> And I think those values that they're very the current generation or the senior generation is very, very conscious that they have to pass on those values >> Okay.

[00:07:35]>> to the next generation. They want to bring in the next generation into the management of the family.

[00:07:40]But then, manage that with wealth with same continuity of the family values.

[00:07:45]>> So that is one difference which is there vis-a-vis compared to the new wealth which is the first generation entrepreneurs.

[00:07:51]Of course they have created wealth in their lifetime. You know, first time they've seen it. Most of the first generation entrepreneurs they come from humble backgrounds, middle class backgrounds.

[00:08:01]>> Could be you know, SMEs who have scaled up in a big way in the last >> Could be SMEs also which could have scaled up. So let us say first generation SME they have scaled up.

[00:08:09]>> Yeah.

[00:08:09]>> And so their approach to wealth is maybe what a business family's first generation would be many generations back where they want to take more risk.

[00:08:18]>> They want to maximize their wealth.

[00:08:20]>> to maximize. So instead of preservation their goal is maximizing.

[00:08:23]>> Right. Right. So that's how it's I mean different to to a degree. Uh what are the differences when you talk about So that's in terms of just generational wealth versus wealth which has just been recently more recently created. What about when we talk about the new wealth families? Now some of it could be say tier two tier three you know, SMEs scaling higher. Some of it I'm guessing could also be from the new age internet economy era, right? So many startups that have come up in the last 10 years or so. So I mean are these people similar, different? What are the similarities and differences?

[00:09:02]>> I think whether it's in a tier two tier two tier three city first generation SME or internet I think in terms of risk taking ability or aspiration to take risk is very similar. It's not very different because see they have seen wealth for the first time.

[00:09:16]>> Right.

[00:09:16]>> And they have created wealth by taking risk.

[00:09:20]>> Mhm.

[00:09:20]>> So in a way they're more more comfortable with risk because they they they know that the rewards come by taking risk.

[00:09:26]>> Mhm.

[00:09:26]>> Right. So their approach is that they want to maximize their wealth. And because in any case if they're coming from a humbler background >> Mhm.

[00:09:34]>> the amount of wealth that they've created has secured them more than what they need to financially secure them.

[00:09:40]So, the rest of the wealth they want to maximize.

[00:09:42]>> Okay. Okay. So, those are some of the the trends. In terms of just the different category of say people that that you cater to. Now, in the last decade or so, we've also seen this rise of family offices, right? Tell us a little more about it. Uh are these family offices primarily they've been set up by the old money families, the generational wealth, uh you know, manufacturing or you know, like you said, industrial families.

[00:10:08]Uh or are they being set up even elsewhere? What is this rise of the family office all about?

[00:10:14]>> Yeah, so I think it's a very interesting question, Surbhi. So, this is a definitely a pattern which one has seen over the last 5 6 7 years, the family offices coming up, and it gives the me more happiness because when we started our journey, we launched the concept of family office into India.

[00:10:31]That point in time, nobody had ever heard of family office in India.

[00:10:35]In fact, I can mention this because this is in the public domain that Mr. Premji was the first one to set up a family office way back in 2006.

[00:10:43]But the concept is so very powerful in the continuity of the family legacy that it is being adopted by almost all families which is coming into sizeable wealth.

[00:10:53]When I say sizeable wealth, you know, it would be say upwards of ideally 1,000 crore plus.

[00:10:58]>> Okay.

[00:10:58]>> But today I also hear up, you know, people setting up their wanting to set up their family offices. It's more of a want you know, than happening even if they have 500 crore kind of investable wealth.

[00:11:08]>> Is there a It's It's more of a concept, right? I mean, does or or does a threshold really matter? I mean, obviously you can't set up a family office with 25 lakh rupees in your bank account. That would be a little bit much, but >> Threshold does matter, and I'll tell you why. Because see, you have to run a family office, you'll need people.

[00:11:23]People, you know, what are their talent?

[00:11:25]And talent, you know, good talent seeks a career path.

[00:11:28]>> That's true.

[00:11:29]>> And there has to be a minimum threshold scale which is needed to give a career path to a good talent. So, unless and until you have about a thousand to two thousand crore of managed wealth, it is very hard to attract, and even if you manage to attract, then keep that talent. So, there is very little data which is available on this space, but if you keep tracking it, there was a report which was done by PwC, I think in 2024, that in India there are about 300 family offices.

[00:11:56]I think out of this about 20, 25% would be serious family offices which are run by, let us say, generational families with a very sizeable scale of wealth, maybe upwards of half a billion dollars.

[00:12:07]A lot of them, I'm not saying they're less serious, but they are on a smaller corpus, and some of them, 10, 20, 30% could also be because of a lifestyle statement, because it's also today fashionable to say that I have a family office.

[00:12:20]>> [laughter] >> So, but I think broadly, even if people are doing for a fashionable reason, I think the trajectory, the direction of the graph is good because society is thinking about preservation of wealth, which is what India was not good at, and the Western development markets were very good at, and that's the reason they managed to preserve their wealth, and while we are getting into wealth, it's time for us to start learning those skills to pass on this wealth across generations.

[00:12:46]>> So, how do you see this evolving?

[00:12:48]The family office, and you know, what does it mean for product manufacturers, uh, for asset management companies, AIFs, you know, PMS, as these family offices grow more and more influential?

[00:13:02]>> Yeah, so what will happen is, you see, uh, an ecosystem is developing of a family office, and it's learning on the job, right? With based on their own experience. So, as I see it will pan out is that over a period of time, based upon the learnings, people who will remain running their own family office will be people for families with sizeable investable wealth, so I'd say at least half a billion dollar plus.

[00:13:26]>> Okay.

[00:13:27]>> You know because then only they'll be able to sustain that. Less than that, you know, they have a need for a family office.

[00:13:34]They will adopt the multi-family office route where they may engage a multi-family office firm. So, it's like you know, you're a large business and if your business is large enough, you it makes sense for you to have your own legal cell, your own legal division.

[00:13:47]>> Yeah.

[00:13:48]>> But if it is not large enough, then you work with a law firm.

[00:13:51]>> Right.

[00:13:52]>> Right. The same thing will pan out here also because you know people families with let us say subscale, I would not say subscale a scale which is not sustainable to run a family office, they will rather go to a multi-family office platform.

[00:14:04]>> I also wanted to now talk about a little bit about the human aspect. Uh because while we'll have family offices and while we have more products in the market, it's still about human decision-making at least right now.

[00:14:15]Though AI is coming in and I know I I want to get to that as well.

[00:14:18]Uh just purely, how have you seen that change?

[00:14:22]From you know, 25 years ago where maybe it was the patriarch of the family or the the business owner or promoter himself taking all the decisions.

[00:14:28]>> Yeah.

[00:14:29]>> To now, how has that evolved?

[00:14:33]>> So, see if you're asking that how the dynamics within the wealthy families have evolved, then what you >> In terms of the approach they're taking to their wealth, their investments, growing it and you know, succession planning, all of that. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:14:44]>> So, I think clearly the control still lies with the patriarch or the senior generation of the family because that is how these families have been run pretty much.

[00:14:55]But then I've seen that over the last 10 odd years a lot of families have adopting a progressive approach where like they're inviting the younger generation in to run their businesses, they're also inviting the younger generation to run the family wealth as well.

[00:15:10]>> Okay.

[00:15:10]>> Of course, the senior generation, what is critical is that okay, I'm inviting you the younger generation, but you please continue to manage based on the family values.

[00:15:19]>> Oh, okay. Uh in terms of product complexity, options, and choices, because so much has changed, right?

[00:15:25]>> Yeah.

[00:15:26]>> Like I said, AI, AIFs, PMS, private credit was suddenly the talk of town until about a year ago until the market started to go sideways.

[00:15:34]Uh, unlisted equity.

[00:15:36]Uh, what have, you know, what is hot these days in the conversations that you have? And I'm sure clients ask for all kinds of things.

[00:15:44]>> Yeah.

[00:15:44]>> But then what what do you say? I mean, what do you advise back?

[00:15:48]>> So, I think that is a uh interesting question. But you know, that is always be the nature of markets. And because see, we are all human beings. As investors, we are humans as investors.

[00:16:01]And as humans, we are emotional beings, right? And emotional beings, we get affected by emotions of greed and fear.

[00:16:07]And this happens all over the world in the best of the markets and societies.

[00:16:12]So, I think one side is that as human investors, we'll always be enchanted by the latest opportunity on the block. So, let us say 2024, IPO market was doing very well post COVID.

[00:16:22]So, there was >> Everybody wanted unlisted equity.

[00:16:25]>> unlisted, you know. So, I don't want to give names, but you are aware of it.

[00:16:28]Everybody is aware of it. So, there was a lot of appetite for it that I want to participate in that.

[00:16:33]Then came in 25, you know, everybody wanted to participate in silver and gold.

[00:16:38]And then now the rupee has depreciated, everybody wants to invest outside India through the LRS route.

[00:16:45]>> Yeah.

[00:16:45]>> So, I think this the flavor of the month appetite will keep changing. But at the same time, what is happening, there's a systemic shift which is happening in the understanding of the investor, HNI and UHNI investors, where they've realized the power of diversification.

[00:17:01]>> Right.

[00:17:01]>> Right. So, you should be investing in that is say a metal like gold, not to maximize your wealth, but to diversify your wealth and stabilize your portfolio because of the poor correlation between equities and gold.

[00:17:14]>> Right.

[00:17:15]>> Likewise, you should if you have to participate in unlisted opportunities, participate by way of a portfolio approach >> Mhm.

[00:17:23]>> instead of, you know, just picking up, you know, one exposure into one company in a very opportunistic manner, which is >> Which may or may not even IPO in in your timeline.

[00:17:32]>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we know there is one company which everybody has been waiting for so many years will go IPO.

[00:17:38]And it's yet to happen.

[00:17:39]>> Mhm. Mhm.

[00:17:40]>> So, I think there is a systemic thinking which is also coming that I want to participate in the unlisted market because that part of the India's economy is also growing.

[00:17:47]>> Mhm.

[00:17:47]>> But let me Can I invest in a portfolio of five, six, seven companies instead of just picking up randomly one or two stocks which everybody >> Mhm.

[00:17:54]>> is following.

[00:17:55]>> Mhm.

[00:17:55]>> Likewise, private credit also, yes, see that opportunity came because in the market's not doing well. So, the idea was, you know, can I invest This is a giving you fixed coupon.

[00:18:03]>> Yeah.

[00:18:04]>> Uh but the issue there is that the post-tax returns they are still not very attractive vis-a-vis Uh the lock-in which the investor has to commit for four to five years.

[00:18:15]>> Yeah.

[00:18:15]>> Because then the families will think that if I have to commit my capital for five years, >> Mhm.

[00:18:20]>> then the opportunity cost of not investing in equities >> Mhm.

[00:18:24]>> is very high because all I have to do then for equities to outperform a post-tax return from that is very, very low.

[00:18:30]>> Right.

[00:18:31]>> So, so private credit is I think is more meant for an institutional capital which a large chunk of that the need is preservation instead of growth.

[00:18:39]>> Mhm.

[00:18:40]>> And also they they need pre- preservation with predictability. So, even if the returns are low, >> Right.

[00:18:46]>> and liquidity needs are limited, they know that this chunk of their corpus is completely safe and will be giving them a predictable yield. So, I think that private credit as an asset class serves that objective very well.

[00:18:58]>> Mhm.

[00:18:59]So, you're also dealing with so-called smart money, right?

[00:19:02]>> Yeah.

[00:19:02]>> Smart money with access to a lot of information.

[00:19:05]Uh so, how hard or easy is it uh to make people understand to push back from all the exotic stuff that they may have read about or friends would have invested in and then you want to say no.

[00:19:17]>> Yeah.

[00:19:17]>> How tough or difficult how easy or difficult is it?

[00:19:21]>> So, I'll bring a very different perspective here. See, anybody who's got access to a lot of information, it could be you, it could be me, it could be anybody.

[00:19:30]>> Yeah.

[00:19:32]>> Actually, that situation makes you as an individual un-smart.

[00:19:36]>> Mhm.

[00:19:36]>> Because what happens is information is intelligence.

[00:19:39]>> Mhm.

[00:19:39]>> And when you have access to too much of intelligence, it start interfering with your intellect.

[00:19:44]>> Mhm.

[00:19:44]>> Which is your wisdom to make the right decisions, right? Because you are that cluttered with so much of knowledge, so much of intelligence.

[00:19:50]>> Yeah.

[00:19:51]>> That to pick up the right insight and then implement that right insight becomes very challenging. So, I think the best way is to make sure insulate yourself from the market noise.

[00:20:01]>> Mhm.

[00:20:01]>> Have a more strategic long-term approach, you know, which is very much aligned with the goals of the family.

[00:20:07]>> Mhm.

[00:20:07]>> That what do you want to do with your wealth at the end of the If you want to compound your wealth, then the solution is very simple. Compounding begins from the 10th year onwards.

[00:20:16]>> Mhm.

[00:20:16]>> Right? So, think as long as that possible and while you're investing for a long term, events will keep happening.

[00:20:23]>> Sure.

[00:20:23]>> So, pretty much like, you know, you run your own business. You know, some quarter will be very good.

[00:20:28]>> Yeah.

[00:20:28]>> Uh, you will not go and acquire a few businesses in the next quarter. Some quarters will be very bad. You will not sell your business because of that.

[00:20:34]>> Yeah.

[00:20:35]>> So, you are looking to compound your business over a generation.

[00:20:39]>> Right.

[00:20:40]>> Right? And then do a succession planning, hand it to the next generation or bring in outside professionals.

[00:20:45]>> Yeah.

[00:20:45]>> Similar approach has to be there in terms of managing your wealth. The way we manage our enterprises and businesses.

[00:20:53]>> We spoke about the role of the next gen, the younger generation. What about women?

[00:20:58]What is their role at the at the conversation table?

[00:21:02]>> Yeah.

[00:21:02]>> And how has it changed?

[00:21:03]>> Yeah.

[00:21:04]No, Well, is a very important question and I must thank you for asking this because there have been very some interesting learnings which you know I have picked up in our interaction with family. So, what is happening is that typically if I can use that word that India's Indian society still continues to be large extent a patriarchal society.

[00:21:22]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:23]>> Uh so, women >> Especially in business families.

[00:21:25]>> Business families and so on and so forth. So, because of that I think women don't participate first of all in the business and then also in financial decisions.

[00:21:33]>> Yeah.

[00:21:34]>> But two three shifts which have happened in the society in the last 10 15 20 years is one is that the scale of wealth has really grown.

[00:21:43]>> Yeah.

[00:21:43]>> And when the scale of wealth grows then that leads to upgrade of lifestyles also, upgrade of aspirations also.

[00:21:50]>> Yeah.

[00:21:51]>> And when that happens the only way you can fund your aspirations and your lifestyle is by having economic independence.

[00:21:57]>> Mhm.

[00:21:58]>> So, I think women in these families they have been raising their voice about succession planning.

[00:22:03]>> Mhm.

[00:22:04]>> Because see till the time their spouses are there and they're part of a joint family setup, you know, money is flowing in is not an issue at all.

[00:22:11]>> Yeah.

[00:22:12]>> But in case of a scenario where your partner is not there and you are part of a joint family setup.

[00:22:18]>> Yeah.

[00:22:19]>> So, women in those setups they are seeking clarity that how things will pan out then.

[00:22:24]>> Yeah.

[00:22:24]>> Which I think is a very good very good expression of the society because that's a sign of a majority of a society >> Mhm.

[00:22:30]>> where members or stakeholders of the families they are expressing themselves for a better the future, securing their financial future.

[00:22:36]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:37]>> And that is then triggering very responsible, very forward-looking conversation within the families.

[00:22:43]>> Mhm. Mhm.

[00:22:44]>> Right? And then that is triggering families to actually think >> Mhm.

[00:22:48]>> uh in a very structured manner about succession >> Succession.

[00:22:51]>> within families. So, it's like you know pretty much like at the if you think at a national level we have got a federal structure.

[00:22:56]>> Mhm.

[00:22:57]>> So, while you need to have a strong federal government >> Mhm.

[00:23:00]>> you also need to have very strong state governments.

[00:23:02]>> Right. Right? And there's always an interplay of finances between federal and state governments also.

[00:23:06]>> Yeah.

[00:23:07]>> Because state governments need that budgetary support.

[00:23:09]>> Yeah.

[00:23:09]>> Right? But the federal government is the one which is collecting taxes.

[00:23:12]>> Yeah.

[00:23:12]>> So similarly at the family level also, the same dynamics are playing out.

[00:23:17]>> Okay. Okay.

[00:23:18]>> So women are expressing themselves and I would see that this is this is a very positive shift in our society.

[00:23:24]>> Oh, it's a very good to know actually.

[00:23:25]It's It's quite heartening.

[00:23:27]Um the role of AI. I said we'll we'll get to it. So here we are.

[00:23:32]>> Yeah.

[00:23:32]>> Um you know, these days and when I go on any app or my own own algorithms keep showing me these ads about how, you know, use this particular LLM and know the best five stocks on Wall Street and analyze your portfolio in 30 seconds.

[00:23:46]So in this age of AI, what is the role of advisors, wealth managers, traditional coaches, right? Who who've helped families and these business houses take those important money decisions?

[00:23:58]>> Yeah.

[00:23:59]No, very relevant question and I can, you know, answer that based on my own experience. So AI has been talked about ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November of '22. Since then, you know, I've been observing it as a student, as a new thing, you know, I'm always very curious about learning new stuff.

[00:24:15]>> Yeah.

[00:24:17]>> And beginning of last year, I promised myself when I set my own goals for every year and I shared it with my team that one of the key goals is that I'll learn about AI.

[00:24:23]>> Mhm.

[00:24:24]>> So I think the the learning of the last 1 year for me is that AI is a great blessing for humanity. I think it's a great tool in a similar way a smartphone happened in the early 2000s or an email happened at the beginning of 2000s. I think it is going to raise the productivity of the society.

[00:24:41]>> Mhm.

[00:24:42]>> Yes, existing jobs will go away like the typewriters, stenographers job went away, you know, but then it created lot many more new jobs.

[00:24:50]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:50]>> So what happens in an AI is basically that it is something which is dependent upon your instructions.

[00:24:56]>> Mhm.

[00:24:57]>> All right. So, the kind of output >> Yeah.

[00:24:59]>> which you can receive, the quality of output depends the quality of input which is the prompts.

[00:25:03]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:25:04]>> All right. So, I think that strength will continue to remain with humans.

[00:25:07]>> Mhm.

[00:25:08]>> So, if you use leverage AI like that, AI will remain your follower, like your great resource which can produce things very faster.

[00:25:17]>> Yeah.

[00:25:17]>> But, I think the the the assets of critical thinking, emotional judgment, they will continue to remain assets of humans. And that is what, you know, coming to your questions, the role of advisers will be. See, our role is I've always believed what is our role? Our role is not to maximize our clients' wealth.

[00:25:33]>> Mhm.

[00:25:33]>> Our role is to handhold them >> Mhm.

[00:25:36]>> when they are struggling with clarity of decision making, right? So, we are like a financial counselor.

[00:25:43]>> Yeah.

[00:25:43]>> I would say that is where our maximum value addition happens >> Mhm.

[00:25:47]>> to our clients, right? Because the role of advisers will also evolve. They will understand the importance of soft skills.

[00:25:54]>> Mhm.

[00:25:54]>> And the importance of real intelligence >> Mhm.

[00:25:58]>> which will always supersede artificial intelligence, right? After all, artificial intelligence has been created by real intelligence.

[00:26:05]>> True. I want your advice for, you know, on three different issues, three topics.

[00:26:11]And these are my three last questions.

[00:26:13]One, what would you say to uh you know, frenzied you know, investors today who, like you said, have exposure to so much of information and news flow?

[00:26:25]>> So, I would say that, you know, the the journey of investing is pretty much like a roller coaster ride if I can, you know, use an analog analogy of you are on an aircraft which goes through very often through turbulences. So, which is the way the best solution is just put on your noise canceling machine and listen to John Denver.

[00:26:44]>> Yeah.

[00:26:44]>> And or your choice of, you know, best music and just, you know, cut off from the noise which is around you.

[00:26:50]>> Mhm.

[00:26:50]>> Because see, when you are on a journey, whether you are on a ship or on an aircraft or on the road, and you will encounter turbulences.

[00:26:59]That's part of any journey. It is part of investing journey as well.

[00:27:03]But just don't get affected by it. You know, if you have clarity on the destination you are you if you are on the right highway which will lead you to your destination, even if there is a traffic jam, don't get bothered by it.

[00:27:15]Just stay calm, stay patient, and eventually when it clears up, you will again reach your destination. So I think that is would be my advice that you know, don't get affected by the clutter of the noise around you.

[00:27:26]Just insulate yourself from that.

[00:27:28]>> Okay.

[00:27:29]What would you say to women at large when it comes to matters of money? Could be working women, could be you know, women in business families, senior, you know, young, across the board. From your vantage point and you've seen wealth so close, what would you tell women to think about?

[00:27:45]>> So I would say I'm Thank you for asking that question because I feel very strongly about it because I think that women constitute 50% of the society, and which is uh a very passive role in economic decisions. So I think they should lead from the front when it comes to first of all their personal finances.

[00:28:03]They should not be dependent upon their family members for taking those calls because that will increase their learning. Secondly, within the family also, they should lead from the front.

[00:28:12]>> Finally, I mean beyond having a fantastic house to stay in and taking very fancy vacation maybe five times a year or three times a year, having the fanciest of cars, once you've acquired all those assets, what is money beyond that? What do those x number of zeros in you know, behind your bank balance, what does it really mean? And what would your take be because I know that you are I think in into meditation as well, and you believe in you know, keeping a very high spiritual quotient. Why is it important to have that while you're still chasing the zeros or trying to preserve the zeros?

[00:28:46]>> So see money is just a resource to live a happy life. And I'll tell you see it's not that to live a happy life you are dependent on money. Money basically frees you up to do things which you wish to do.

[00:28:59]Right? So, if you have addressed your needs and then you also address your wants.

[00:29:05]Then money is just a number. Right?

[00:29:08]It is not going to make a difference to your life and you are not going to use if it is beyond that even your lifetime.

[00:29:14]Right? Maybe your next generation is going to enjoy it.

[00:29:16]>> Yeah.

[00:29:17]>> So, I think the best thing is to your relationship with wealth should be very good. You should take care of wealth and the wealth will take care of you and the hack for that to my knowledge there could be others also is that prioritize your needs over wants.

[00:29:30]I'm not saying don't focus on wants.

[00:29:32]But, you know, needs are always finite.

[00:29:35]Why not wants can all can be infinite.

[00:29:38]>> Ah, yes. But, some people say that's aspiration and you must be aspirational and must aim for the bigger house and the bigger car. That's what drives >> Absolutely. So, that >> It's a chicken and egg kind of an argument, isn't it?

[00:29:49]>> So, I would say focus on the chicken and the egg will come.

[00:29:51]So, focus on the inputs of remain superbly aspirational about what you're supposed to do, which is your input. You know, if you have to scale your business remain superbly aspirational about it.

[00:30:01]>> Right.

[00:30:02]>> If you've done that, if your chicken is healthy eggs will follow.

[00:30:05]And if that happens then you will continue to upgrade your lifestyle. So, that should be the way.

[00:30:10]It should not be that you have to upgrade your lifestyle then you have to do XYZ things.

[00:30:15]Because that is the surest way of inviting stress into your lives.

[00:30:18]>> Yeah. Very well said. Very well said and I kind of relate to a lot of it. I think you follow your passion, do it with honesty and with truth and hopefully, you know, goddess and the gods of wealth will will follow.

[00:30:29]>> That's right.

[00:30:30]>> Fantastic conversation. Thank you so much for taking out the time and for sharing some of your thoughts, your insights and the wisdom that you've picked up over the course of the last so many decades.

[00:30:38]>> Thank you, Salve. I enjoyed the conversation. Thank you for having me here.

[00:30:42]>> Thanks very much. Well, with that we are out of time on uh this one.

[00:30:46]So, what really stood out is really how Indian family wealth is undergoing a fundamental transformation from instinct-driven investing to a far more structured, disciplined, and institutional approach to managing capital. And of course, the little hacks that you know, Rohit has shared with us to just balance our thoughts when it comes to wealth and wealth management.

[00:31:09]Well, that's it on this episode. Thank you very much for joining us on Wealth Architects and sharing, you know, your thoughts with us as well. Stay tuned.

[00:31:17]We'll have more conversations on wealth coming your way in the next few weeks.

[00:31:21]>> Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully.

[00:31:28]Tata Mutual Fund [music] presents Wealth Architects in association with Moneycontrol.