Global family offices eye India as long-term investment destination
Washington: Global family offices are increasingly turning their attention to India as a long-term investment destination, driven by diaspora-led entrepreneurship, technology innovation, and the country’s expanding role in the global economy, the organizer of the world’s largest and most exclusive gathering of family wealth has said.
India is emerging as a key focus area for wealthy investors looking beyond traditional markets, particularly as Indian-origin entrepreneurs who built companies abroad are beginning to channel capital and expertise back home, Anthony Ritossa, founder of the Global Family Office Investment Summit, told IANS in an interview.
Following the latest summit in Miami, Ritossa said his platform, launched in 2016 with a small gathering of 60 people in Dubai, has grown into a global network of family offices, entrepreneurs, conglomerate business owners, and members of royal and ruling families.
“It was a relatively small gathering back then,” he said, adding that the summit series “snowballed since then” and now attracts repeat delegates from around the world. Chairman of the Ritossa Family Office, Ritossa is a family office influencer and impact investor.
The Global Family Office Investment Summit now convenes in cities including Dubai, Miami, Monaco, Riyadh, and locations on the French Riviera, bringing together decision-makers in what Ritossa described as a “safe harbor environment.” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, he noted, has characterized the conference as “becoming a bridge between the US and the Middle East with Miami and Dubai being the gateway cities.”
Ritossa said the family office community differs from traditional venture capital in both mindset and time horizon. “Family office investment capital tends to be more permanent capital, and it takes a much longer-term horizon,” he said, contrasting it with venture capital funds that often operate on shorter cycles and answer to limited partners.
He said family offices have historically been early movers into emerging sectors. The summit introduced Bitcoin as an investment opportunity about eight years ago, when the cryptocurrency was trading at around $3,000, alongside discussions on blockchain and artificial intelligence. “We’ve had both digital assets and AI’s dedicated panel sessions for the last eight years,” he said, noting that AI is now a mainstream focus but has long been part of family office conversations.
Current areas of interest among family offices include AI, data centers, defense technology, longevity healthcare, and real estate development. Ritossa said defense tech, in particular, is seeing rapid growth, with some investors suggesting it is expanding even faster than the AI sector.
On the broader investment climate in the United States, Ritossa said sentiment among Middle Eastern family offices has been positive during President Donald Trump’s second administration. He cited public announcements of large-scale investments, including commitments to US data centers, as signals that have encouraged further private-sector activity.
India featured prominently in discussions at the summit, Ritossa said, with investors highlighting the role of the Indian diaspora. He pointed to a growing trend in which Indian entrepreneurs who built unicorns abroad are returning to India to launch new ventures and incubators. “Now they’re starting to move back to India, and they’re taking what they’ve learned and creating a new sort of level of entrepreneur incubators in India,” he told IANS.
Ritossa described India as “a massive growth engine” with a “very well educated population,” adding that many family offices are looking at how to ensure India is represented in their investment portfolios.
According to Ritossa, the summit series has facilitated more than $4.5 billion in investments and transactions over the past decade, with about 9,800 delegates participating across events worldwide. He said one company alone secured a $300 million commitment during the recent Miami conference.
The summit plans to expand to new destinations, including Bahrain under the patronage of its royal family, and is exploring opportunities in Morocco. He also said the platform is placing greater emphasis on philanthropy and impact investing, including charity dinners and personal contributions that have supported humanitarian causes.
Family offices have become an increasingly influential force in global finance over the past decade, managing private wealth across generations and often operating outside the constraints faced by institutional funds. Their growing interest in India aligns with New Delhi’s push to attract long-term foreign capital, particularly in technology, infrastructure, and innovation-driven sectors.