PAG-Backed Nuvama Wealth Acquires Wealthtech Startup Pickright

Listed wealth management firm Nuvama Wealth, which was earlier known as Edelweiss Personal, has reportedly acquired a 74% equity in wealthtech startup Pickright Technologies.

The acquisition will offer an exit to Pickright’s existing investors–Mumbai Angels Network, JITO Angel Network and 100x.VC. Meanwhile, the remaining stakes will be held by founders, according to a Mint report. 

Further, the acquisition will help Nuvama tap into Pickright’s platform particularly user interface and user experience capabilities. Post the acquisition, Pickright will continue operating independently.

The development comes about two years after Pickright secured $200K in a seed funding round led by JITO Angel Network. 

Founded in 2019 by Archana Elapavuluri and Namandeep Bhatia, Bengaluru-based Pickright connects individual investors with advisors across all asset classes. It also offers ‘Investpacks’ that help investors create customised investment portfolios based on their financial goals and risk appetite.

Under its ‘Investpacks’, the startup enables investors to put capital into stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, gold and fixed deposits.

“It has been observed that the wealth management industry is focused on transaction-based investment services. We realized that there is a huge need for financial advisory across the affluent segments. And that’s the primary reason why we acquired a majority stake in Pickright, which offers smart advisory services,” said Rahul Jain, president and head of Nuvama.

Pickright, which is a SEBI-registered investment advisor, claims to have offered services to more than 100K users and have managed assets worth INR 50 Cr. It also asserted that it has a headcount of about 17 employees.

The startup counts angel investors–Vikrant Yadav, Gaurav Gupta, Vikram Pandya, Madhavi Bollipalli, Vivek Srivatsav and Srinivas Paanem as its backers.

In India, it competes with the likes of Scripbox, ETMoney, Groww, Wealthy and IndMoney. 

As per a RedSeer report, the Indian wealthtech industry was valued at $20 Bn in the financial year 2020 (FY20). The industry is projected to grow by 3X to reach around $63 Bn by the financial year 2025 (FY25).

Meanwhile, as per Inc42 fintech report, domestic fintech startups secured more than $24 Bn from investors between 2014 and Q4 2022. The country’s fintech space is anticipated to cross the $2.1 Tn mark by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 18% during 2022-30.