This wealth erosion comes not primarily from market volatility or poor investment performance, but from a fundamental discontinuity in financial acumen. Inheritors receive assets without acquiring the disciplined mindset that built those assets. They inherit the wealth but not the wisdom behind it. This pattern manifests across economic strata. Among India’s high-net-worth (HNI) households, a substantial 43% save less than one-fifth of their income.

The solution here is to get intelligent advice that helps with wealth building and wealth sustainability.

Why is intelligent advisory needed today?

Traditional wealth building in India followed a disciplined approach of methodical saving and conservative investment. Today, this shift has evolved from “earn and save” to “earn and consume”, altering wealth trajectories.

Household debt has risen 102% from 2019 to 2025, compared to a 48% in assets. Non-housing retail loans, such as personal, automotive, and credit card debt, now constitute 55% of household borrowing, outpacing mortgage finance for the first time.

This reorientation towards consumption impacts the preservation of generational wealth. When families prioritize immediate lifestyle upgrade over long-term asset accumulation, the foundation for a lasting financial legacy becomes increasingly unstable. As a result, intelligent advisory becomes crucial to help with financial planning.

How can intelligent advisory be helpful?

Intelligent advisory transcends traditional investment guidance. Where conventional advisors focus primarily on portfolio construction, intelligent advisors address the multidimensional nature of family wealth. It helps with:

• Comprehensive financial planning: It establishes a framework that includes investment strategy, tax planning, risk management, and succession planning. This structural foundation ensures that wealth grows according to coherent principles rather than merely accumulating. It creates a roadmap that guides all financial decisions towards long-term objectives rather than short-term gains.

• Family governance: It introduces family governance to support decision-making and shared values. These governance structures provide clarity on how financial decisions align with family priorities across generations. It establishes clear protocols for who makes decisions, how conflicts are resolved, and how family values influence investment choices.

• Responsibility transfer: This means that inheritors assume progressively greater financial authority under experienced guidance. This model builds practical competence while minimizing mistakes. It creates a safe environment for learning through controlled exposure to financial decision-making with increasing stakes over time.

Strategic implementation beyond traditional asset allocation

Effective intelligent advisory also addresses portfolio construction in ways that balance tradition with innovation. While a large portion of Indian household savings remains concentrated in real estate and precious metals, sustainable wealth building requires thoughtful diversification.

Intelligent advisory implements several approaches to help families diversify beyond traditional assets:

1. Core-satellite portfolio structure: This approach maintains traditional assets as the stable core (70-75%) while introducing alternative investments as satellites (25-30%) for better returns.

The core provides stability through high-quality real estate, gold, and blue-chip equities, while the satellites offer growth through private equity, venture capital, and structured credit.

2. Phased diversification timeline: For families deeply committed to traditional assets, intelligent advisors implement gradual transitions:

• Phase 1 (year 1-2): Maintain existing real estate and gold holdings while redirecting 50% of new investments toward alternative assets

• Phase 2 (year 3-4): Evaluate underperforming real estate assets for potential liquidation and increase alternative allocation to 10-15%

• Phase 3 (year 5+): Achieve target allocation of 20-25% in alternatives with regular rebalancing

They also consider individual risk appetite in order to make an efficient portfolio, as there is no one-size-fits-all.

3. Liquidity tiering: This strategy focuses on the liquidity challenges of investments by structuring the portfolio in tiers:

• Tier 1 (~20-30%): Immediately accessible assets (gold, liquid funds)

• Tier 2 (~45-50%): Medium-term liquidity (mutual funds, REITs)

• Tier 3 (~15-20%): Long-term illiquid assets (private equity, venture capital)

This balanced approach prevents the erosion of wealth and helps pass it down the generations.

As Warren Buffett wisely observed, “someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”. In today’s consumption-focused economy, families who plant these financial trees through disciplined planning and education will provide shade for generations to come. For this, intelligent advisory is a key to unlocking generational wealth.

Atul Shinghal is the founder and chief executive of Scripbox.