Soumya Rajan is a quiet talker, but there is entrepreneurial steel behind the whisper.
In 2010 in India, few left a steady employer such as Standard Chartered to branch out on their own. Even by private banking’s standards, the domestic industry was deeply conservative: low on product innovation; wary of targeting new clients outside first-tier cities; dominated by well-established operators.
Rather than seeking comfort, Rajan chose to seize opportunity. After 16 years in several roles at Standard Chartered, she founded Waterfield Advisors.
Today, the independent multi-family office and advisory firm she runs helps wealthy Indian families manage US$4.3 billion in assets, from nine offices scattered across the market. Among the services it offers are investment advisory, succession planning, estate planning and global family office advisory.
A regular judge on Euromoney’s annual global private banking awards, Rajan has been busy since last year’s edition. In September, the firm launched its first fund of funds, raising US$70 million, of which 70% was channelled into funds, with the rest allocated to co-investments.
Why now? Partly because investor-friendly rules permit it. An increasingly sophisticated financial market is also ready for that kind of investment platform. Waterfield also felt local investors were not sufficiently taking part in India’s burgeoning wealth story – and wanted to remedy the situation.
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