BlackRock, Reliance Urge Indian Savers at NYSE to Move Wealth from Gold to Equities

India’s Savings Shift Pitch at New York Stock Exchange

BlackRock and Reliance Industries are urging Indian savers to move money out of gold and into equities, arguing that household wealth parked in bullion is “unproductive” compared with compound returns from the stock market. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani make the appeal during a fireside chat at the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 15, 2026, positioning the shift as part of a wider push to deepen India’s capital markets and expand domestic long-term investing.

The appeal follows the launch of Jio BlackRock Asset Management funds last year and the roll-out of an equity fund in August, which is gathering assets — about 31.98 billion rupees ($353 million) as of end-December. Fink draws on BlackRock’s global experience to argue that long-term equity participants are materially better off than those keeping cash in bank accounts, and tells Indian investors that equities could “double and triple and quadruple” over the next two decades as the economy grows.

The executives link their push to structural trends: systematic investment plan (SIP) flows have tripled to 2.89 trillion rupees ($31.9 billion) in fiscal 2025 versus 2021, and Bain & Company forecasts retail mutual fund assets expanding to 300 trillion rupees ($3.3 trillion) by 2035 from 45 trillion rupees in fiscal 2025. Fink cites IMF projections of 6.4% Indian GDP growth in 2026 versus 3.3% globally, and says policy stability, improved corporate governance and deeper markets will accelerate investment into listed companies and long‑term wealth creation.

Domestic Market Context

The push comes amid heightened gold volatility and a tepid start for equities, with the Nifty 50 down nearly 2% year-to-date, and more than a year of net foreign selling in Indian markets. Reliance and BlackRock frame their joint effort as a means to capture rising domestic participation, noting that Indians still allocate a majority of savings to physical assets — nearly 59% in FY2025 — even as that share declines from 66% in FY2015.

Industry Implications

For asset managers, the combination of rising SIP flows, favourable long-term GDP projections and a strategic partner with deep retail reach creates an opportunity to scale mutual fund distribution and product innovation. BlackRock’s public advocacy for financialisation and its Jio partnership position it to benefit from a structural shift if Indian households increasingly reallocate from gold and real estate into listed equities.