Wealthy is fuelling the next phase of growth for India’s mutual fund distributors through AI

India has thousands of mutual fund distributors (MFDs) who are financial advisors helping people invest their money. According to ICICI Prudential's report, these distributors managed Rs 25,35,000 crore in assets as of FY25, with commission revenue reaching Rs 21,100 crore.

But most operate with outdated systems, handling client onboarding, transactions, and portfolio tracking manually. Without the latest technology, they can’t compete with banks and large wealth management firms that have advanced digital platforms, limiting their ability to serve India’s expanding investor base.

This gap was identified by founders Prashant Gupta and Aditya Agarwal. Gupta, an IIT Madras graduate, previously worked at Société Générale in Tokyo and Morgan Stanley in London. Agarwal, from IIT Bombay, spent nearly eight years at Monitor Group before becoming an angel investor in startups like Chaayos and Housing.com.

Together, they founded Bengaluru-based Wealthyin 2015, initially focusing on helping retail investors grow their money beyond traditional savings.

Wealthy started with algorithm-driven investment guidance, believing India lacked enough human advisors. But customers preferred human advice, and scaling personal advice proved impossible, a challenge that forced a complete rethink of their model. 

The breakthrough came during the COVID-19 pandemic when the platform was opened to external advisors needing tech support. By 2022, the company discovered the real opportunity: empowering independent advisors with technology.

“The biggest pivot was recognising the power of human advisors,” Agarwal explains. “We realised there weren't enough platforms available for existing advisors to run their businesses efficiently.”

Since then, Wealthy has grown from working with just 10 advisors to supporting over 5,000 distributors across more than 1,000 cities. Today, the platform facilitates investments across mutual funds, stock broking, portfolio management services, and insurance, and manages assets worth Rs 5,000 crore.

What does it offer?

Wealthy is a full-stack technology platform for independent financial advisors, bringing together client onboarding, product research, transaction execution, and portfolio tracking in one system.

The platform supports client onboarding and compliance, handling KYC and regulatory checks in the background. Advisors can access research tools and execute transactions across mutual funds, SIPs, portfolio management services, insurance, stocks, IPOs, and alternative investments like fixed-income securities.

Wealthy enables execution across all these products through a single, standardised workflow. Advisors select a financial investment option, assign it to a client, and send a proposal link. Regulatory requirements across SEBI (broking), IRDAI (insurance), and AMFI (mutual funds) are managed within the platform. Advisors also get portfolio analytics, financial planning tools, and business dashboards to track performance.

The startup operates through a two-app setup: the Wealthy Partner App for advisors and distributors to manage clients and products, and the Wealthy App for end clients, offering a consolidated view of investments across mutual funds, stocks, insurance, and other products. Clients can execute transactions online, view family portfolios in one place, and access reports shared by their advisor.

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AI at the core 

Operating across multiple regulatory frameworks, Wealthy uses AI to reduce complexity and standardise user experience. “The flow remains consistent: choose an investment, review the details, and complete the transaction,” says Agarwal.

During client onboarding, Wealthy’s AI-powered document reading and identity verification help complete checks quickly, allowing clients to invest with minimal delays. The platform has also introduced AI-driven branding and marketing tools for advisors. 

“Many independent advisors operate without personal websites or structured marketing material. Through this feature, advisors can edit profile photos, generate clear descriptions of their services, and create client-facing websites in under two minutes,” Agarwal adds. These websites can be shared across social media, visiting cards, and QR codes, and include details such as the advisor's background, certifications, and client testimonials.

The founders add that AI is also used for portfolio review and analysis. “With client consent and OTP-based access, advisors can import portfolios held on other platforms into Wealthy,” Agarwal says. Its system then generates portfolio review reports within seconds, comparing performance against benchmarks, analysing individual funds, assessing risk, and suggesting possible actions.

On the support side, Wealthy uses an internal AI-based support agent that resolves over half of customer queries automatically, helping close support tickets faster.

Some of the other companies working in the space include Coin, Groww, Kuvera, Fisdom, and Kotak and HDFC in the wealth management space. However, these platforms primarily focus on serving end investors or captive advisor networks. Wealthy differentiates itself by building a full-stack, multi-product technology platform specifically for independent financial advisors

Customers and pricing 

Wealthy operates as a B2B platform, serving over 5,000 advisors who collectively reach over one lakh end customers. “We work with bankers quitting jobs to start independent practices, chartered accountants expanding beyond tax services, LIC advisors upgrading to become wealth managers, young entrepreneurs, and second-generation advisors modernising family businesses,” Agarwal says.

Instead of charging advisors a subscription fee, the company follows a transaction-based revenue model. When an advisor executes a transaction, the product manufacturer pays Wealthy a fee, which is then shared with the advisor, with the majority going to the advisor.

Fee structures vary by product category: mutual funds charge 0.7-0.8%, stock broking charges Rs 15 per order, portfolio management services charge 1.0-1.1%, and insurance carries fees of 25-30%. The company doesn't disclose exact revenue-sharing percentages.

Data security and compliance

In terms of data security, Wealthy follows a multi-layered approach to protect client and advisor data. “All data moving from client browsers to servers is encrypted in transit, with encryption keys regularly updated to maintain security standards,” Agarwal says. 

The company stores its data in Indian data centres to follow regulations, and only authorised staff can access sensitive information based on their role. Through this, Wealthy’s teams only see data necessary for their specific functions; for example, operations teams view unique client codes instead of personally identifiable details like mobile numbers and emails.

“As a platform regulated by SEBI, IRDAI and AMFI, we’re monitored closely at all times,” Agarwal adds. The platform undergoes regular penetration testing and VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) to identify and address vulnerabilities. 

The founders add that Wealthy’s broking business alone faces at least four audits per year from exchanges or regulators, while also working toward full compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

Funding and growth

According to Deloitte India, the wealth management sector will see a growth $1.6 trillion AUM growth opportunity between FY24 and FY29, as demand for wealth management services nearly doubles.

Wealthy recently raised Rs 130 crore ($14.5 million) in a funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments, with participation from Shepherd's Hill Group and Alpha Wave. The company said it will use the funds to scale up the technology platform, expand AI capabilities, and deepen its physical presence in newer cities. 

Since Wealthy's Series A round in 2022, when it raised Rs 50 crore at an AUM of approximately Rs 200 crore, the company has grown approximately 25x, doubling annually. The company has so far raised $27 million in funding. “The last three years were about finding the right model. We're currently on track to double the business every year,” Agarwal says.

On the expansion front, Wealthy plans to scale its distributor network from 5,000 to 15,000 in the next 18 months and open more than 20 offices across the country. 

“Physical presence is needed as many distributors want offices near them, for training and support during their transition to independent practice,” Agarwal adds. 

Over the next four to five years, Wealthy aims to grow its assets under management from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore by expanding to 25,000-30,000 distributors across the country.