Success in investing needs personalisation, compliance and expert guidance, says Harsh Gahlaut of FinEdge

Cross-border investing has become increasingly complex for NRIs, who must juggle regulatory rules, banking requirements, and market uncertainty while planning their financial futures. At the same time, many global Indians are shifting towards long-term, goal-driven investment behaviour that demands both structure and expert guidance.

In an exclusive interview with Fortune India, Harsh Gahlaut, Co-founder and CEO of FinEdge, explains how personalised advisory, regulatory compliance, and a bionic approach to digital investing are helping NRIs stay disciplined and achieve their long-term goals.

Excerpt:

How do digital platforms facilitate cross-border investing and address regulatory complexities for NRIs?

While investing in India, NRIs often navigate through different time zones, volatile markets and regulatory complexities, making cross-border investing challenging. Most DIY or pure transaction platforms provide limited or no human support to understand and resolve these complexities. It is believed that success in investing comes through a combination of a personalised investment process, regulatory compliance and an investment expert who handholds the investor through the entire investment journey.

To bring more structure, an investment expert stays aligned with the investor throughout the journey. They begin with a clear understanding of investors’ goals, individual risk tolerance and their investment horizon. This ensures that products are fully aligned with the interests and needs of the investor.

For NRIs, the company ensures that investments are made in compliance and within the prescribed regulatory framework. This includes adherence with KYC norms, FATCA updates and banking-level compliance like NRE/NRO accounts being used for making investments. The platform ensures that money flows from the correct bank account type and avoids schemes or fund houses that are specifically restricted for NRIs.

This results in a guided, compliant, goal-driven investment journey where the focus remains on helping global Indians stay on track and achieve their long-term financial goals.

What trends did you observe in NRI investing behaviour and goal preferences through your client base present globally?

We currently manage future goals worth ₹4,200 crores for its NRI investors spread across 90 countries.  In a recent study on our NRI clients, we found that NRI investors are highly aware and are extremely goal-focused.

The study reveals a decisive shift toward structured, long-term investing among global Indians. NRIs prioritise future goals with Children’s education accounting for “30% of all NRI goals” worth ₹461 crores, while retirement follows at “27%” with a planned corpus of ₹3,228 crores. Together, these two goals represent “57% of all goals” set by NRIs.

NRIs also demonstrate strong investing discipline and understanding of long-term investing. The study highlights that “over 75% of NRIs have remained invested for 5 years+ and 65% for 7 years+,” despite major global volatility events. This behaviour has been enabled by remaining goal-focused and purpose-led while investing. 

According to the study, NRIs also allocate a higher monthly surplus through SIP for their goals. The average SIP amount for an NRI investor is ₹6,486 in comparison to the ₹2,900 average SIP amount in the industry.

Investing in India offers a compelling long-term opportunity for NRIs, and with the right behaviour and expert guidance, their investment journeys become more consistent, purpose-driven, and aligned with the outcomes they seek.

How are digital investment platforms integrating NRE/NRO bank accounts into the mutual fund investment flow, and how seamless is that experience for NRIs? 

Unfortunately, most digital investing platforms lack a human touch, and as a result, a basic solution to banking complexities faced by NRIs remains missing. While these platforms allow linking NRE and NRO accounts seamlessly, the responsibility of assessing which account should fund which investment falls entirely on the investor. NRIs often have varied repatriable needs, domestic or overseas income sources, and different tax considerations, so choosing between an NRE or NRO account may need a more detailed understanding.

This is where bionic platforms blending digital efficiency with human expertise offer a far more seamless and wholesome experience. An investment expert who understands repatriation norms and bank level compliance can guide NRIs on the right account type, ensure investments are routed correctly, and handhold them through the digital process. This combination of advisory and technology creates a smoother and more compliant investing journey for NRIs.

What are the main service requests from NRIs related to KYC, FATCA, and tax compliance?

NRIs deal with multiple regulations, tax laws, and banking norms that can vary from country to country. This makes routine compliance tasks complex and often requires expert guidance to keep investments running smoothly.

According to an Investors Study, “72% of all service-related requests from NRIs are linked to service essentials and updates such as KYC updates, Change of Bank requests, and ARN transfers.”

Transaction support like ECS bounces, rejections, and redemption-related support also needs particular attention for investors who are residing overseas.

The study also concluded that essential compliance is needed for NRIs for FATCA, Change in residency, Tax Status changes etc. Even simple updates like mobile numbers, email IDs, or address updates require guided support as documentation for these requests can add an additional layer of complexity.

In the end, these are not advisory queries, but compliance-related matters that determine the continuity of investments and smooth processing of withdrawals or redemptions when the need arises.

How do NRIs demonstrate a disciplined and goal-focused approach to investing compared to resident Indians?

The most important part of investing is having a purpose or goal. With the intent of achieving your goal, one must start the process. NRIs reflect this mindset strongly. A study shows that 57% of all NRI goals are focused on retirement and children’s education, signalling clarity on long-term priorities and a willingness to commit early and stay invested

They also follow disciplined monthly investing, setting aside a part of their surplus before spending, an approach that reinforces and strengthens their ability to stay committed to long-term goals regardless of market noise.

Equally important is their willingness to seek expert guidance. With complex cross-border regulations and banking rules, NRIs value an investment expert in India who not only initiates the investment plan but stays involved, guiding decisions, reviewing portfolios, and ensuring a personalised investment journey aligned to their goals.

What advantages does GIFT City offer NRIs in terms of tax efficiency and portfolio diversification?

GIFT City offers NRIs access to mutual funds with both tax efficiency and global diversification. As India’s first IFSC, it allows fund houses to launch offshore-structured mutual funds that invest in international equities, bonds, commodities, and multi-asset portfolios. These funds can operate in multiple foreign currencies, such as USD, GBP, SGD, and AED. NRIs can invest without the need for repetitive currency conversions or repatriation hurdles, making the experience very convenient.

The tax framework is another advantage. These funds do not attract TDS, dividends are taxed at a concessional 10%, and capital gains on IFSC-listed units are taxed at only 9%. Transactions are exempt from GST, and investors can use DTAA benefits to reduce tax liability in their country of residence.

GIFT City funds offer NRIs advantages such as tax efficiency, currency flexibility, and a strong regulatory framework. However, they have a higher investment threshold and are subject to global market and currency volatility. Any investment in these funds should be made after careful consideration of how they fit into an optimal asset allocation within the investment portfolio.