Long-term wealth shouldn’t be concentrated in a single currency, says Atul Singh of LGT Wealth India

India’s rapid wealth creation is transforming the way the country’s richest families think about governance, succession, and global diversification. As fortunes expand, the focus is shifting from returns to responsibility, and from growth to longevity. In an exclusive interview with Fortune India, Atul Singh, MD and CEO of LGT Wealth India, explains how structured family offices can preserve wealth—and values—across generations.

Excerpts:

Q: How would you describe LGT’s business and positioning in India?

Atul: LGT is a global private bank with a deep focus on ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices. In India, we operate a full-fledged onshore wealth management platform covering equities, fixed income, and alternatives. Our GIFT City presence also allows us to serve global investors bringing capital into India while helping Indian families diversify globally.

Q: What’s your outlook for India’s wealth advisory market?

Atul: The outlook is strong because wealth creation in India is robust and widely recognised. The industry is moving toward portfolio management and advisory-led models; demand isn’t the issue—the real question is building offerings that meet need effectively at scale.

Q: How do you define a “family office” in the Indian context?

Atul: We work with both individuals and families; in India, “family office” isn’t a legal construct, so the lines between a UHNI family and a family office are blurred. In contrast to places like Singapore, Hong Kong, or Dubai, India lacks a formal definition and licensing framework, so families may operate via individual names, companies, or LLPs and still call it a family office if they professionalise management.

Q: How do you approach building family offices for clients?

Atul: We deconstruct needs into four pillars. First, investment governance—getting a consolidated view across portfolios, aggregating risk, building tools and processes to act quickly rather than analysing outcomes months later. Second, global diversification—long-term wealth shouldn’t be concentrated in a single currency; regulations enable part of the wealth to be deployed globally, and our global footprint supports that. Third, succession and legacy—put the right structures in place so assets transfer seamlessly, and pair the “hard” structures (trusts/beneficial ownership) with “soft” elements like values and decision frameworks. Fourth, philanthropy—move from ad hoc donations to structured giving that sustains the family’s impact and legacy across generations.

Q: What are the biggest challenges in transferring control to the next generation?

Atul: Two dimensions. One, governance of the assets—visibility, measurement of risk/return, and day-to-day management disciplines. Two, intergenerational design—without proper succession planning and structures, wealth fragments across heirs; and without explicit transmission of values (work ethic, integrity, entrepreneurship), wealth often dissipates by the third generation. Families that combine sound structures with a strong family governance framework—including norms for decisions and a “family constitution”—reduce conflict risk materially.

Q: How are investment preferences evolving among wealthy families?

Atul: Indian wealth is largely entrepreneurial and still growth-focused, so portfolios are tilting more into alternatives. Within alternatives, families distinguish PE from VC given different risk/return; private credit has grown; listed-market adjacencies like REITs and InvITs are significant; and many large families co-invest or invest directly in companies and startups. There’s also strong interest in global diversification and, among next-gen members, a pronounced tilt toward sustainable investing that aligns capital with positive societal impact.

Q: How do you help families safeguard wealth over generations?

Atul: Our team supports estate planning and related structuring, informed by patterns seen across hundreds of families. The solution set has two parts: during the wealth creator’s lifetime, establish the right holding structures and beneficial ownership to minimise conflict risk later; and concurrently build family governance and a shared value system, often codified in a family constitution, with mechanisms like seed capital for next-gen entrepreneurship to reinforce agreed priorities. Evidence from mature markets shows wealth can vanish in three generations without such planning, but with thoughtful design and governance, that outcome isn’t inevitable.