Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As India races to become the world’s third-largest economy, it has also emerged as one of the fastest-growing wealth markets, according to the Allianz Global Wealth Report 2025.
The report, covering around 60 countries, stated that the financial assets of Indian households rose 14.5 percent in 2024, marking the strongest expansion in eight years and underscoring the growing influence of India’s middle class.
Over the last two decades, India’s real per capita financial assets surged fivefold, placing it among the most impressive wealth trajectories of any emerging economy. Securities led growth last year, jumping 28.7 percent, while insurance and pensions rose 19.7 percent. Bank deposits—still the dominant savings vehicle in India, accounting for 54 percent of household portfolios—grew at a steady 8.7 percent.
In real terms, financial assets climbed 9.4 percent after inflation, lifting purchasing power 40 percent above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. This contrasts sharply with Western Europe, where purchasing power remains a sluggish 2.4 percent below the 2019 level.
Net financial assets per Indian stood at USD 2,818 per capita in 2024, up 15.6 percent from the year before. “India’s expanding middle class continues to reshape global wealth dynamics, contributing significantly to the rise of emerging markets in the global middle wealth segment,” the report noted.
While India recorded rapid gains, the United States accounted for half of global financial asset growth in 2024. Over the past decade, US households generated 47 percent of worldwide wealth growth, compared with China’s 20 percent and Western Europe’s 12 percent.
“Financial asset growth in the US is simply amazing,” said Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Allianz. “In 2024 alone, half of the global increase came from American households. Contrary to popular belief, the US has not been losing ground but driving global wealth expansion.”
However, Japan and Western Europe lagged behind the global average, reflecting slower asset growth and limited securities exposure.
According to the report, securities ownership is the key driver of household wealth. Globally, securities grew nearly 12 percent in 2024, double the pace of bank deposits and insurance/pension assets.
But disparities in portfolio structures mean households benefit unevenly. North Americans hold 59 percent of their portfolios in securities, compared with 35 percent in Western Europe and just 13 percent in India.
“You have to work for your money in India,” said Kathrin Stoffel, co-author of the report. “But it’s smarter to let the money work for you — like in the US, where stock market gains drive wealth growth.”
With India’s middle class expanding and financial literacy rising, Allianz expects continued strong growth in household wealth, especially as more investors move from traditional savings to securities and pensions.
Globally, the report warns that wealth inequality and uneven portfolio participation could weigh on inclusive growth, even as financial assets scale new highs.