A number of hires demonstrate how this India-based organisation is making waves in the country's wealth management sector.

When Spark Capital Private Wealth Management, the private wealth management business of Spark Capital Group, recently added a team of eight bankers throughout India, it was a reminder of how far this business has come.

Spark Capital PWM's client assets under advice currently stand at about 53,000 crore, equivalent to around $5.9 billion. That is up from 3,000 crore in April 2023, reflecting an almost 18-fold increase over the past three and a half years. The wealth management business sits in the Spark Capital Group, an integrated financial services organisation in India. It has attracted senior bank talent from institutions including HDFC, Kotak Wealth, ICICI Securities, InCred Wealth, and LGT and Centrum Wealth.

Spark Capital Group, founded a quarter of a century ago, operates three main business: private wealth management, investment banking, and investment management. It serves corporations, institutional investors, family offices and HNW individuals in India and overseas.

The Spark business is riding a rising tide of wealth. According to data for 2025 from the Capgemini World Wealth Report, published in June this year, India's HNW population (those with $1 million or more of investable assets) stood at nearly 390,000, rising 3 per cent from a year ago. That population group held a total of approximately $1.64 to $1.65 trillion, rising 4.6 per cent year-on-year.

WealthBriefing recent interviewed Amit Rathi (main picture), managing director, Spark Capital PWM, to ask about the business and its strategy.

WealthBriefing: Approximately how many professionals work in the private wealth business today?
Amit Rathi: Spark Capital’s Private Wealth Management business comprises over 500 professionals, including more than 175 private bankers. The broader team brings together investment specialists, fund managers, product and research professionals, equity analysts, family office specialists, and dedicated teams across risk, operations and technology.

Over the past three and a half years, the business has grown from approximately 60 professionals to its current strength, reflecting our commitment to building a comprehensive wealth management platform backed by deep specialist expertise. We have consciously invested in maintaining a strong complement of specialists and support professionals alongside our private bankers, ensuring that every client relationship is supported by institutional depth, robust research capabilities and dedicated expertise.

WealthBriefing: Where are your offices in India, and do you have an international presence?
Amit Rathi: Spark Capital has a growing pan-India presence across 13 locations, including Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Kanpur, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, with Chennai serving as the group’s headquarters. The group is expanding its footprint, with offices in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Vadodara, expected to open shortly.

Internationally, Spark Capital operates through Spark Global PWM, its subsidiary based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) as a Category 3 firm. Dubai serves as the group’s hub for the Middle East, supporting professional clients across the region, as well as Indian families and entrepreneurs with cross-border business and investment interests.

WealthBriefing: Do you track metrics such as Net Promoter Score, client retention, share of wallet and referrals?
Amit Rathi: Yes. We evaluate our performance through a balanced set of client-centric and business metrics, recognising that asset growth alone does not fully capture the strength of client relationships. We track both client and asset retention, with current retention levels close to 100 per cent, reflecting the continuity and strength of our relationships.

A significant proportion of our new client relationships originate through referrals from existing clients and their networks. We view this as an important indicator of client satisfaction and trust. We also monitor the share of a family’s investible wealth entrusted to us and how that share evolves over time, as it provides insight into the depth of the relationship.

We conduct formal Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys: currently we have an NPS of 68, indicting strong client advocacy and a high willingness among clients to recommend our services. In addition, we assess revenue quality, the breadth of services used by each client and banker retention, recognising that continuity in relationship management is central to long-term client trust.

WealthBriefing: What are the key value propositions of Spark Capital’s Private Wealth Management business?
Amit Rathi: Our differentiation lies in the combination of a research-led investment philosophy, personalised service supported by institutional capabilities, comprehensive family office expertise, and an entrepreneurial environment for bankers and integrated mid-market investment banking capabilities.

For more than 25 years, the Spark Capital brand has been built on a foundation of research, investment expertise and institutional knowledge spanning equity research, investment banking and asset management. Our private wealth business draws directly on this intellectual capital to provide clients with independent, research-driven investment perspectives and access to a broad range of opportunities, rather than taking a purely product-led approach.

Every client benefits from a dedicated private banker, access to senior leadership and the support of investment specialists and research professionals. Our open-architecture approach provides access to a wide range of solutions, including direct equities, private equity, private credit, alternative investments and structured products. This combines the personalised attention of a boutique firm with the breadth of an institutional platform.

For promoter families and entrepreneurs, our offering extends beyond portfolio management to succession planning, family governance, estate planning, wealth structuring, philanthropy and cross-border advisory. Through the group’s investment banking capabilities, we can also support business requirements such as capital raising, acquisitions, stake sales and IPO advisory. This enables us to address both a family’s personal wealth requirements and the strategic needs of its business.

Our culture empowers experienced professionals to build and grow client relationships within an entrepreneurial institution. By combining individual ownership and relationship continuity with the resources of a broader platform, we attract professionals committed to building long-term client partnerships.

Through Midas Investment Banking, thegGroup also offers transaction advisory services to entrepreneurs and businesses undertaking mid-market transactions, typically in the ?50–500 crore range. This gives private bankers access to specialised transaction expertise, supported by the rigour and experience of the Group’s investment banking platform, and enables them to deliver more comprehensive solutions to mid-market and SME promoters.

WealthBriefing: Whom do you benchmark yourselves against?
Amit Rathi: We benchmark ourselves against leading wealth management institutions in India, including established independent wealth management firms and the private banking divisions of large financial institutions. We also draw on global best practices in private banking and multi-family office services.

Ultimately, however, our most important benchmark is the client. We assess whether we are retaining client trust, increasing our share of their investaible wealth and earning introductions to their families and professional networks. We continuously monitor the competitive landscape, learn from industry developments and incorporate relevant best practices into our business.

WealthBriefing: What are the challenges and requirements clients typically approach you with?
Amit Rathi: Our clients typically seek advice on a range of interconnected financial, business and family matters. Many are entrepreneurs or promoter families approaching a significant liquidity event, such as a business sale, IPO or stake sale. They need guidance on deploying the proceeds thoughtfully and building a portfolio that supports their long-term objectives.

Succession planning and family governance are also important considerations. Families often seek support with intergenerational wealth transfers, business succession, family constitutions, trusts and governance frameworks. At the same time, clients whose wealth is concentrated in their operating businesses or domestic assets increasingly seek to diversify across asset classes, including private markets and international investments.

Cross-border requirements are another growing area of need, particularly for families with overseas businesses, assets or family members. These clients may require support with global investing, wealth structuring and coordination across relevant jurisdictions. Many also hold assets across multiple institutions and advisors, creating a need for consolidated reporting, greater visibility and an integrated assessment of portfolio risk.

Beyond traditional investments, clients increasingly seek guidance on philanthropy, art, lifestyle-related matters and other aspects of family wealth management, particularly as the next generation is becoming more involved. The firm, said that its role is to bring these needs together through a coordinated, long-term advisory relationship.

WealthBriefing: What is Spark Capital’s revenue model?
Amit Rathi: Our revenue model primarily comprises advisory fees, generally linked to the assets under advice or management, and transaction-based fees associated with certain products and investment transactions. For multi-family office mandates and specialised structuring assignments, we may agree on retainers or mandate-based fees depending on the scope and complexity of the engagement.

Our objective is to maintain transparency in client pricing and align our commercial interests with clients’ long-term objectives, while delivering efficient and comprehensive wealth management solutions.

WealthBriefing: Can employees acquire shares or partnership interests in the firm, and do they invest alongside clients?
Amit Rathi: Our compensation philosophy combines competitive fixed remuneration with performance-linked variable compensation and long-term wealth creation opportunities through employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). This approach is designed to align employee performance, client outcomes and the firm’s long-term growth objectives.

Members of our leadership team and many of our private bankers also invest in the same strategies and products which they recommend to clients. We believe this demonstrates alignment of interests and reinforces our commitment to investing alongside the clients we serve.

WealthBriefing: Does the group encourage cross-referrals between private wealth, investment management and investment banking? How is this managed?
Amit Rathi: Yes. Cross-referrals are a strategic advantage of being part of the Spark Capital Group because entrepreneurs and business families often have interconnected personal and business financial needs. For example, clients advised by our investment banking team on an IPO, business sale or stake sale may require wealth management advice following the liquidity event. Similarly, private wealth clients may need support with capital raising, acquisitions or other strategic transactions for their businesses.

Referrals are managed through a structured framework that prioritises client consent, confidentiality and appropriate information barriers between business divisions, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. A shared-credit and recognition framework also encourages effective collaboration across teams.

This integrated approach gives clients access to the group’s broader capabilities while ensuring that their interests, confidentiality and applicable regulatory obligations remain paramount.

WealthBriefing: What is the minimum asset size for becoming a client of the wealth business?
Amit Rathi: Our core Private Wealth Management clients typically have investable assets in the range of $1 million to $10 million. Our multi-family office offering is generally designed for families with investable assets exceeding approximately $10 million.

These thresholds serve as broad guidelines rather than rigid eligibility criteria. We also consider the alignment of values, the complexity of a client’s requirements and the potential to build a long-term relationship.

WealthBriefing: What does Spark Capital PWM stand for in terms of culture and values, and how do you maintain consistency as the business grows?
Amit Rathi: Our culture is anchored in three principles: independence, client-centricity and entrepreneurship. These are underpinned by the research orientation and integrity associated with the Spark Capital brand for more than 25 years.

As the business grows, we preserve these principles through deliberate hiring and talent development. We assess cultural alignment, professional integrity and long-term orientation alongside commercial performance. Approximately 2025 per cent of our private bankers joined the organisation at junior levels and have progressed within it, helping to preserve institutional knowledge and embed our culture across the business.

When teams join us from other firms or markets, we integrate them into our investment philosophy, research processes, risk framework and client service standards. Our founders and senior leadership remain closely engaged with clients and bankers, reinforcing accountability, transparency and consistent standards across locations.

As we continue to scale, our priority is to combine the reach and capabilities of a growing institution with the independence, responsiveness and personalised service of a relationship-led wealth management firm.