Real assets once considered niche or illiquid are fast becoming a mainstream investment class in India, driven by policy support, evolution of suitable products and rising investor appetite for stable, yield-generating opportunities.
During a fireside chat at the VCCircle Real Asset Investment Summit in Mumbai, Subahoo Chordia, CEO, EAAA Alternatives, explained that the asset class, spanning real estate, renewables, transport infrastructure, logistics, and digital assets, is now central to India’s growth narrative.
“Real assets are essentially those you can touch, feel, see and that generate long-term, predictable cash flows,” Subahoo said, pointing to categories such as renewable power, highways, and data centres as examples of this evolution. While India’s journey began relatively late, the first InvIT listing came only in 2017, he noted that the segment has grown rapidly, with InvITs and REITs together managing over ₹10 lakh crore in assets today.
According to Subahoo, India’s growing economy and increasing domestic capital have created a strong demand for investment products that offer debt-plus returns with lower volatility. “The whole category in between was missing in India and that is where real assets come in. Whether it is real assets or private credit, they have filled a gap wherein there is a need for investors to generate a bond plus or a debt plus return with low volatility,” Subahoo said.
He credited three key factors for mainstreaming of the asset class: the rising need among investors for predictable income, accessibility through structures like AIFs, InvITs, and REITs, and a supportive policy framework that has enabled participation and liquidity.
Subahoo further highlighted how financialization of physical assets, through REITs, InvITs, and yield-based funds, is making the category more liquid and accessible. “If you go back and look at in the 90s, equity as an investable class was dominated by global investors. Over a period of time, it became an asset class for sophisticated family offices, and later, the ultra HNI retail category and mutual funds. We will see the same trend happening with real assets,” Subahoo said.
Discussing long-term themes shaping investment strategy, Subahoo outlined four megatrends driving EAAA Alternatives’ approach: energy transition and decarbonization, transportation infrastructure, India’s service-sector-driven real estate demand, and digital infrastructure expansion.
While the asset class still faces perception challenges around illiquidity and complexity, Subahoo believes that democratization will accelerate as awareness grows. “It’s very unfortunate that the Indian pension and insurance companies are not taking the benefit of investment in this asset class being available. At the same time global pension, insurance companies and asset managers are investing in Indian real assets and offering the same to their pensioners as a return. It is an understanding gap which is there in the Indian market right now and will soon evolve,” he remarked.
EAAA Alternatives, which has been building its platform in India for nearly a decade, provides global investors access to private credit and real asset opportunities through its investment expertise, institutional platform, and robust governance standards.
No VCCircle journalist was involved in the creation/production of this content.
