Japanese Banks Eye India’s Ultra‑Rich: Why MUFA, Mizuho, Daiwa and SMBC Are Buying Wealth Platforms

During Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to New Delhi in July, Japan announced a hefty package of roughly $12.5 billion spread across 120 agreements. It was a big show of intent, but perhaps the most intriguing part of the deal‑making was a series of investments by Japan’s banking giants into India’s wealth‑management ecosystem.

Manish Jain, who co‑founded the dating‑site‑turned‑matchmaking‑guru Shaadi.com and now runs MProfit, made it clear on LinkedIn that these funds are not chasing a bigger AUM number. “None of this capital is chasing AUM. It is chasing distribution to the Indian family. The wealth manager is the toll‑booth,” he wrote, underscoring that the real prize is access to the country’s entrenched family fortunes.

Let’s break down who did what. Daiwa Securities has been a steady hand, first taking a 20 % stake in Ambit’s parent company in May 2023, then adding Rs 415 crore for a 15 % slice of Ambit Finvest in March 2024, and finally ploughing another Rs 285 crore for 15 % of Ambit Global Private Client (GPC) in December 2025. Ambit GPC, led by Amrita Farmahan, currently stewards close to Rs 88,000 crore for ultra‑high‑net‑worth families.

MUFG Bank entered the arena a little later, co‑leading a Rs 400 crore funding round for Neo Wealth and Asset Management in August 2024. Neo, a three‑year‑old outfit, has already amassed about Rs 35,000 crore in managed wealth – a modest size compared with the giants, but a fast‑growing one.

The biggest splash came from Mizuho Securities, which agreed in December 2025 to acquire between 61.6 % and 78.3 % of Avendus from KKR and co‑founder Ranu Vohra for up to Rs 4,700 crore. Avendus Wealth, headed by Apurva Sahijwani, is a well‑known name among Indian family offices.

SMBC Asia’s Rising Fund made its move in August 2026, leading a Rs 280 crore Series‑A in Centricity WealthTech. Valued at roughly Rs 1,800 crore, Centricity manages around Rs 15,000 crore of assets, positioning it as a mid‑tier player with plenty of room to grow.

Why all this focus on wealth managers? Building trust‑based relationships with India’s entrepreneurial dynasties and UHNW families takes years, if not decades. By buying into platforms that already have those connections, Japanese banks can shortcut the hard work and instantly plug into a distribution network that would otherwise be hard to crack.

It also fits a broader pattern. Japanese banks have been snapping up stakes in Indian financial firms – MUFG bought a 20 % share in Shriram Finance for $4.4 billion, while SMBC’s sister bank Sumitomo Mitsui became the largest shareholder in Yes Bank with a 24.22 % holding. All of these moves signal a shift: Japan is looking beyond its aging domestic market and betting on India’s expanding consumer base and burgeoning wealth pool.

In short, the four deals are less about buying assets and more about buying access – a strategic foothold in the family‑wealth ecosystem that could unlock a suite of cross‑border products, from private banking to capital market services. For Japan, it’s a calculated gamble that the Indian wealth tide will keep rising, and for Indian wealth managers, it’s a welcome infusion of capital and expertise.