Today’s family offices are seeking institutional-grade exposure, transparency, and active portfolio optimization.
In an interview with ETMarkets, Ramashrya Yadav, Founder & CEO of Integrow AMC, highlights how family offices are moving away from legacy assets and toward curated real estate funds via AIFs, driven by the demand for clean exits, structured reporting, and smarter risk-managed growth.
As Yadav puts it, “The old ‘buy and hold’ model is being replaced by ‘track and optimize.’” This shift reflects a larger trend of professionalisation and performance-driven allocation in the real estate portfolios of India’s wealthiest investors. Edited Excerpts –
Q) No, we are not talking about an apartment in Dubai. But, are HNIs and UHNIs taking part in the commercial real estate via the AIF route?
A) Yes, in a big way. The old model of buying an office or a shop and waiting it out is dying. Today’s HNIs want scale, diversification, and cleaner execution.
AIFs give them access to commercial real estate deals they’d never be able to underwrite or manage on their own, especially in structured credit and special situations. It’s not about owning a floor in a tower anymore, but actually about being part of something bigger, with institutional controls.
Q) What’s driving the shift among HNIs from direct real estate investments to structured exposure through AIFs? What kind of money is getting invested in real estate via this route?
A) Time, trust, and returns.HNIs are done chasing developers for possession, dealing with tenants, or sitting on dead capital. AIFs solve that. You get exposure to real estate, but through a managed structure, curated deals, downside protection, clean exits. We’re seeing ₹1–2 crore cheques from individual investors, and ₹25–50 crore from family offices. Across the market, you’re looking at tens of thousands of crores moving this way. A few years back, it used to be a niche but now it is becoming the new normal.
Q) Which real estate themes are HNIs allocating to most via AIFs — warehousing, data centers, rental-yielding commercial assets, or residential development?
A) Right now, residential development with strong cash flow underwriting is hot, especially via structured credit. People want short- to mid-term cycles and visibility. Yield-generating commercial assets are also seeing strong interest. These work well for investors who want their capital to multiply without taking development risk.
Good tenancy, stable income, and clean structuring are making office and retail assets a bigger part of portfolio decisions. Warehousing has momentum, but it’s mostly led by institutional capital. Data centers are still early, and the track record isn’t deep yet. Basically, people want risk-managed growth more than blind bets.
Q) How do you see family offices and private wealth desks evolving their real estate strategies over the next 2–3 years?
A) They’re getting smarter and more demanding. The old “buy and hold” model is being replaced by “track and optimize.” They want real reporting, portfolio visibility, and advisors who can show them risk, not just returns.
We’re seeing family offices actively rotate out of underperforming assets, question vintage holdings, and allocate to curated funds instead. Real estate is a part of a strong portfolio strategy. And the ones who get that are already ahead.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
