Women in India are expected to inherit at least ₹73 trillion in intergenerational wealth over the next decade, yet only 23% of women who have already inherited wealth have fully structured wealth-transfer plans in place, according to a report released by Barclays Private Bank in collaboration with Encubay. The report, titled 'The Ownership Shift', surveyed 22 women leaders across entrepreneurship, fund management, investing, and family wealth stewardship. Despite the substantial wealth transfer expected, preparedness remains uneven with 54% of respondents saying their wealth transfer plans are still under development, while another 23% acknowledged being aware of their holdings but have yet to formulate a concrete plan. The ₹73 trillion estimate covers listed and unlisted family assets and is a minimum estimate because private holdings were not evaluated in their entirety.
Despite the planning gap, the report highlights a growing level of engagement among women in investment management. A notable 66% of respondents are actively involved in managing investments, with 86% prioritising long-term wealth creation and 84% favouring a balanced investment approach that combines growth opportunities with capital preservation. Looking ahead to the next three to five years, 40% said they intend to prioritise private equity, venture capital, and direct startup investments for fresh capital allocation, significantly higher than the preference for public markets, fixed income, and real assets, each of which attracted 20% of respondents. However, there is a significant gap between intent and actual allocation, with only 13% reporting being actively invested in alternative investments despite the strong preference.
While women leaders are increasingly targeting alternative assets, knowledge gaps remain a significant barrier. According to the latest Barclays report, 40% of surveyed women leaders plan to allocate new capital towards alternative investments over the next three to five years, eclipsing traditional avenues. However, only 14% of respondents are highly familiar with alternative investments and actively invest in them, while 29% reported a limited understanding of alternative assets. Another 29% said they were highly familiar with the asset class but remained completely uninvested, with the remaining 28% being only somewhat invested. This disparity stems from structural bottlenecks rather than risk aversion, with 71% of respondents citing a need to improve their investment knowledge and confidence as their key priority. The report describes this as a knowledge-confidence gap where 86% prioritise wealth creation and 40% want to deploy fresh capital into alternatives, but only 14% currently combine strong familiarity with actual investment.
Women fund managers, either solely managing or co-managing funds, oversaw ₹13.45 trillion, or 20% of the mutual fund industry's total assets under management (AUM), as of January 2025. This marks a sharp increase from ₹6.66 trillion a year earlier, with 49 women fund managers active across 339 schemes in 25 fund houses. Entrepreneurship is also seeing greater female participation, with 75,935 DPIIT-recognised startups having at least one woman director as of December 2024, close to half of all startups recognised under Startup India. Meanwhile, women occupied 21% of board seats in NSE-listed companies as of February 2026, up significantly from just 5% in March 2014, with 98% of NSE main-board companies having at least one woman director. Currently, 77% of surveyed women hold direct decision-making power, with 54% as equal co-decision makers and 23% holding sole executive authority.
Balancing time and attention emerged as the biggest challenge for respondents, cited by 50% of those surveyed, followed by 30% finding lack of trusted advice to be a key challenge. A substantial 71% said that improving investment knowledge and confidence would be the single most important enhancement to their financial lives, with 86% considering themselves only moderately confident when making financial decisions. Nearly three-quarters of respondents identified investment knowledge and confidence as the single most important factor that could improve their financial lives. The barriers are not limited to knowledge, with 20% specifically citing lack of confidence and knowledge as one of their biggest challenges in managing wealth. Trust and transparency also featured prominently in advisor relationships, with 85% saying these were the qualities they valued most, while 77% rely on professional wealth advisors. As per Adrish Ghosh, Head of Private Bank, India, the findings show that women are already active participants in India's wealth landscape, with 86% prioritising long-term wealth creation and 66% actively involved in investment decisions.
