Blackstone’s ASK plans to hire 70 wealth bankers in India

[MUMBAI] Blackstone’s ASK Group plans to hire 70 private bankers as competition heats up within India’s booming wealth management space.

ASK’s private wealth unit aims to have 175 bankers by the end of March next year, up from about 105 now, Rajesh Saluja, chief executive officer and co-founder of the business, said.

The rise of wealthy Indians across the country has sparked the creation of many new firms competing to manage their money, while more established players like ASK Private Wealth, Bain Capital-backed 360 One WAM and PAG-backed Nuvama Wealth Management are expanding their teams.

Mumbai-based ASK Private Wealth has 520 billion rupees (S$7.7 billion) of assets under advisory for more than 3,700 families. Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the broader ASK Group in 2022. The group has over 745 billion rupees in assets across alternative investment funds, portfolio management services and private wealth.

Even with the growth, ASK will be cautious about hiring, especially those private bankers who have been jumping jobs often or who see risky products as their ticket to personal wealth creation, Saluja said.

“I want to be sure that the expense is justified, they fit our culture, and we are getting the right candidate,” he said.

Saluja expects investors to continue investing in gold and fixed-income alternative funds such as distressed and high-yield debt, while remaining committed to equity index funds and mutual funds, among other asset classes. BLOOMBERG