In what proved to be a tough year – given Russia’s war in Ukraine, high inflation and rising interest rates globally – Kotak Mahindra Bank’s private banking arm was well positioned to advise its wealthy clients on how to manage their money.
That advice was not just about creating wealth, but also about how to preserve and sustain it. How did Kotak achieve that? The bank leveraged its strong debt and credit team to offer its private banking clients the right fixed-income investment opportunities, given flows into this asset class in India in 2022.
Under the leadership of Oisharya Das, chief executive of Kotak Private Banking, the division worked closely with the investment banking arm to facilitate business for the whole range of its client base, including entrepreneurs, high net-worth and ultra-high net-worth families and professionals, and family offices.
For 2023, however, Kotak wins Asiamoney’s award for being the best for wealth transfer and succession planning in India, thanks to the team’s ability to thoroughly assess a client's financial situation, goals and preferences, and use that detailed understanding of family dynamics and inter-generational wealth transfer needs to provide a holistic solution.
Kotak offers its estate planning services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kotak Mahindra Trusteeship Services. This unit has helped the bank’s many wealthy clients to set up private family trusts, put together wills, estate and succession plans, and assisted with the administration of trusts and associated fiduciary requirements.
Kotak, which moved to the annuity business model, has invested in improving its digital game to meet the needs of a tech-savvy client base. In 2022, it created a new technology vertical within wealth management to bolster its efficiency and customer focus.
Kotak’s cutting-edge digital tools and mobile banking app enable clients to access their wealth management portfolios, track their investments and pay their taxes from wherever they are in the world. They can also create wills online and consolidate reporting of family assets on a digital assets register.
This level of convenience and accessibility is particularly important for wealthy clients who often have complex financial arrangements and lead busy lives.
Kotak also caters to the next generation of wealthy with an annual NextGen Connect programme. Industry experts provide millennials with inputs on markets, asset classes, investments and digital banking – all with the aim of helping them to make informed decisions about their wealth.