By Nesil Staney
More than two dozen mid and small-sized firms are challenging the top players in India’s fast-growing and profitable portfolio management scheme (PMS) space. These smaller outfits—around 25 of them—are, by one estimate, manage close to `1 lakh crore. Data from PMS Bazaar reveals they have built up portfolios of anywhere between Rs 3,000 –Rs 5,500 crore in a relatively short time.
These include Alchemy Capital with Rs 5,328 crore assets, Buoyant with assets of Rs 4,550 crore, Aequitas Investment Consultancy Rs 3,193 crore, Marcellus Investment Managers with Rs 3,289 crore and Aashish P Somaiyaa’s White Oak Capital Management with Rs 4,531 crore.
“PMS is a hot sector and is being chased by big private equity firm like Blackstone and Bain, to get a slice of the profits,” Lakshmi Iyer, who heads alternate investments at Kotak Mahindra Bank, told FE. Neo Wealth, relatively new entrant, backed by private equity firm Peak XV Partners and MUFG Bank has Rs 2,000 crore assets and 216 clients. Blackstone acquired 74% stake in ASK Group for $1 billion in 2022. The ASK Group manages assets exceeding Rs 80,000 crore, and its clients include sovereign wealth funds of West Asia, Africa and Europe.
At the same time, a recent analysis by consultants PwC observed that even as asset managers are able towin over customers, the business
has become challenging because investors have become more demanding. And with the number of players going up, asset managers, of all hues, are facing more competition for control of a slower-growing pie of assets.
“For example, mass- affluent investor assets are projected to grow at a calendar average growth rate of 5.4% through 2028, according to PwC. To scale up, some players are opting for collaborations. Participation in PMS requires a minimum threshold investment of 50 lakh as per regulations.
To promote the ease of doing business initiatives for portfolio managers, the Sebi has made registration with the Association of portfolio managers in India (APMI) mandatory for them. There are also several smaller firms like ithought with AUM of `2,400 crore, Punartha PMS Rs 2,300 crore, to name a few in the league.
SEBI data, furnished by 461 PMS service providers, shows that the grand total of assets, managed by these firms was about Rs 38 lakh crore as of April 2025. Of this, around Rs 32 lakh crore is in the discretionary category while Rs 2.89 lakh crore is from PMS advisory category. Moreover, Rs 27.88 lakh crore was contributed by pension funds. Of the total clientele of PMS providers, 1.92 lakh clients are in the discretionary category.