Shiv Gupta of RBS looks at the role of estate planning and philanthropy as part of the services offered to wealthy individuals in India.

Date: Oct 2011

Tags: Estate planning, Succession planning, Philanthropy

• Consultation and networking opportunities for family businesses, for philanthropy, and for next-generation wealth transfer allow advisers to engage with the client at a much broader level
• The concept of charity in faith and tradition has existed for many years, and it is estimated that around 1.5% to 3% of wealth is given away in charitable and philanthropic causes at the moment – a number which is growing
• The rapid pace of wealth creation and the magnitude of the wealth that has been created has allowed philanthropy to come to the fore quite quickly
• Yet organised philanthropy in terms of wealth managers getting involved in making opportunities available to individuals is very new

In terms of estate planning as part of the Coutts offering in India, Shiv Gupta said in an interview that the bank has the Coutts Institute, which provides life-cycle services.

These include consultation and networking opportunities for family businesses, for philanthropy, and for next generation, he explained.

These kinds of overlays allow advisers to engage with the client at a much broader level, said Gupta, in terms of their own ambitions, aspirations and interests, and provide meaningful engagement in all of these areas.

As a result, advisers need a minimum standard of competence in terms of knowledge in order to have an initial conversation along these lines, he said.

Indians and philanthropy

According to Gupta, it’s in the cultural ethos of India – cutting across religious lines – to engage in giving, and this is deep rooted.

The concept of charity in faith and tradition has existed for many years, and it is estimated that around 1.5% to 3% of wealth is given away in charitable and philanthropic causes at the moment – a number which is growing.

In addition, it was estimated in 2009 I think that there were around 3.3 million NGOs operating out of India, giving a sense of the breadth and pervasiveness of the amount of interest towards social causes.

The rapid pace of wealth creation and the magnitude of the wealth that has been created has allowed a lot of people to climb up Maslow's Hierarchy of Need quite rapidly, explained Gupta, to the stage between esteem and self-actualisation.

This means that as a life ambition and objective for a lot of people, philanthropy has started coming to the fore quite quickly.

When it comes, however, to organised philanthropy in terms of wealth managers getting involved in making opportunities available to individuals, this is very new.

But Gupta said he expects to see more and more of this happening as the trend matures and develops.