Avendus bolsters wealth-management offering

As the private-banking sector continues its rampant expansion in Asia, another domestic firm is looking to challenge the global players on its home turf.

Mumbai-based Avendus Capital, a full-service institutional financial services firm, is looking to position itself as not just another 'product pusher'. And the company feels it will boost its research capabilities and equity coverage by choosing Thomson Reuters as its content solutions provider.

When asked how Avendus would compete with foreign firms moving into the Indian wealth-management market, Subrata Majumdar, head of investment and advisory for South Asia at Thomson Reuters, said clients are looking for better advice. "Traditionally a lot of wealth advisors have merely pushed products," he tells AsianInvestor.

"Avendus is a niche, pure-play wealth management firm," says Majumdar. "It is purely based on advisory and does not carry a hidden agenda of pushing products. Also, global wealth-management firms are often hit by their legacy costs, making them cost-inefficient. Avendus brings the best of both worlds and will be able to win market share in India."

Kartik Kini, chief administrative officer at Avendus Wealth Management, says the firm expects to bring innovative products to the market faster with the new software.