Waterfield Advisors launches Discretionary Investment Services for Indian UHNIs and HNIs

Mumbai, 22nd June 2023: Waterfield Financial and Investment Advisors, a SEBI-registered portfolio manager, has announced the launch of Discretionary Investment Services for India’s UHNI and HNI investors.

Recognising a growing trend amongst its clients to be less involved with investment decisions, Waterfield applied for a PMS license which would enable it to offer an execution platform for client investments while maintaining its signature advisory approach for portfolio construction and investment selection.

Discretionary Investment Services is a fee-based, multi-asset portfolio management service that is transparent, personalised, and governed by an investment policy statement designed to align with the interests of the investors. For Indian HNIs, this proposition offers a dedicated investment committee to manage their wealth, exclusive access to Waterfield’s experienced CIO office, and tailored solutions on global and private market opportunities.

The offering is uniquely customized for the various segments that Waterfield Advisors engages with. For UHNIs investing 100Cr+ with the advisory firm, the service will be offered as Outsourced CIO or OCIO, bringing to them an Investment Advisory Council and offering unlisted and global investments as well. For the firm’s Bespoke Wealth segment (investible assets between INR 10Cr - INR 100Cr), the proposition is segmented into Customised (INR 25Cr – INR 100Cr) and Nucleus (INR 10Cr – INR 25Cr), offering multi-asset solutions with five distinct risk profiles.

"Serving HNIs and Family offices for over a decade through the investment advisory model in India, we recognised the limitations of non-discretionary investment management for certain clientele. We discovered a specific group of clients who desired to minimise their time commitment and involvement in portfolio decisions. Being a company dedicated to addressing the complexities of managing substantial wealth for our clients, Waterfield developed a discretionary platform that leverages meticulous agility in portfolio execution to minimize opportunity loss arising due to delayed action. The platform needed to act like an outsourced investment office of the client, and we're thrilled to have achieved precisely that." said, Soumya Rajan, Founder and CEO, Waterfield Advisors.

The Discretionary platform will be headed by Shantanu Bhargava, Managing Director, Head of Discretionary Investment Services, Waterfield Advisors, an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, along with his team of experts.

Highlighting his vision behind this proposition, Shantanu said, "There is a noticeable trend in key business locations and client segments towards seeking holistic multi-asset advice on a Discretionary basis. In the new normal environment of lower returns and higher volatility, the opportunity costs will keep accumulating in the non-discretionary model, potentially leading to a serious performance gap over time. Waterfield's approach of aligning with the client’s interests, when applied on a discretionary basis would result in significantly enhanced portfolio outcomes for clients. I am thrilled to introduce the first true-to-label, open-architecture, Discretionary investment services platform."