Family offices are increasingly participating in pre-IPO placement rounds as they pursue alpha opportunities in the Indian market. According to reports from Mint, PI Opportunities Fund, an investment vehicle of Azim Premji's family office Premji Invest, and Alrox Enterprises, the family office of Sun Pharmaceutical's promoters, participated in SBI Funds Management's pre-IPO round. Earlier in December, the family offices of Azim Premji and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala participated as anchor investors ahead of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co.'s IPO. A February note by Julius Baer highlighted several marquee private-market deals involving family offices, including Patni Family Office's investment in Bombay Shaving Co., with reports indicating that Bombay Shaving Co. plans to go public within the next 18 to 24 months. The trend extends globally, with recent data showing significant funding activity across multiple sectors, indicating continued family office participation in pre-IPO opportunities worldwide.
Family offices are well-positioned for this trend due to their financial capabilities and investment approach. As reported by Mint, Riddhiman Jain, managing director and head of investment strategy and solutions at Waterfield Advisors, noted that most pre-IPO rounds want cheques that high networth or retail-style investors simply can't write out. The reason family offices are well-placed in this trend is the ticket size of the deals, according to Jain. Given that much of what trades on unlisted desks is just illiquid stock with no listing catalyst in sight, family offices are better-positioned to conduct the due diligence needed to put a big amount down. According to an August report by Julius Baer-EY, family offices are increasingly bypassing traditional fund-only routes, investing directly in startups and unlisted growth companies, while co-investing alongside PE and VC funds. This strategic positioning allows family offices to access opportunities that require substantial capital commitments while maintaining their ability to conduct thorough due diligence.
The family office sector in India has experienced significant expansion and is projected to continue growing. Vodhi Chakravartty, head of strategy, Kotak Private Banking, pointed to how family offices in India have grown to over 300 now from roughly 45 in 2018. Assets under management are projected to grow 50% in three years and a lot of that growth is chasing pre-IPO bets that are high-growth assets, even if they come with valuation risks. However, market performance has shown some challenges, with India's unlisted market saw trading volumes fall 40-70% from late-2025 peaks, according to Rohit Suri, CEO – UHNI Business, Ionic Wealth. Average IPO listing gains declined from 28% in FY25 to just 8% in FY26 despite record activity, though some recent pharma and specialty-chemical listings have still delivered outsized gains. Despite these challenges, the global funding landscape shows continued robust activity across various sectors, indicating sustained investor interest in pre-IPO opportunities.
Family offices are evolving their investment approach to capture alpha opportunities across multiple stages. According to the August Julius Baer-EY report, family offices are increasingly bypassing traditional fund-only routes, investing directly in startups and unlisted growth companies, while co-investing alongside PE and VC funds to get an earlier access to value creation. Rohit Suri cautioned that the upside of an easy alpha has largely disappeared, noting that the 'buy private, wait for IPO, make 2x' playbook no longer works automatically. The opportunity today, according to Suri, is identifying companies where private-market valuations still materially understate future earnings potential, with pre-IPO investments becoming a satellite alpha strategy around a core listed-equity portfolio. This evolution reflects family offices' adaptation to changing market dynamics while maintaining their focus on high-growth opportunities that offer meaningful upside potential.
