Now, wealth managers are signing up under RERA

Many have already registered in Maharashtra, and some are also expanding to other states

High net-worth individuals (HNIs) who are looking for someone to help them buy a coveted property may soon find that they have just the right person at hand- their wealth manager.

A number of wealth managers who provide a variety of advisory services to well-heeled clients have signed up under the new real estate regulator. They are registering themselves as agents, as their clients often turn to them for advice on their real estate holdings, and managers often provide assistance with transactions. Those who have signed up under the new regulatory regime include Sanctum Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management, Centrum Wealth, Karvy Private Wealth and IIFL Wealth.

The central government enacted the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act in 2016. Under this law, every state is required to set up a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). The institution is supposed to help regulate the sector in its territory. Different states have gone about setting up regulators at a different pace since then. The Maharashtra government did so in March 2017.

Many wealth managers have signed up since then, and are also expanding their registration to multiple states.

“Under the stringent RERA regime, it is mandatory for any person directly or indirectly involved in the process of transacting a real estate asset to be RERA-registered, and there is now a rising trend of wealth managers signing up under RERA,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants.

“We help our clients buy or sell property and provide advisory services in terms of short-listing appropriate properties. This activity now legally requires us to be registered under RERA. Since other wealth managers also provide similar services to their clients, it is likely that there will be more wealth managers signing up under RERA,” said Vijay Kumar Goel, chief executive officer at Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management.

Prateek Pant, Head of Products and Solutions, Sanctum Wealth Management pointed out that real estate as an asset class is one which is highly-owned by most wealthy individuals. This makes it necessary for wealth managers to sign up if they are to offer holistic services to clients across their entire portfolio, and not just on their financial assets.

“Some of our advisory work would also involve facilitating transactions, which is why we signed up with the RERA last year. We already have a Maharashtra RERA license, and are now looking to sign up in Delhi and Karnataka," he said.

Sandeep Nayak, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at Centrum Broking said that it has been a year since they signed up under RERA in Maharashtra. They are looking to sign up in Karnataka and New Delhi as well over the next two quarters.

"All those who want to offer comprehensive solutions across investments and real estate to their clients will have to sign up under RERA as most wealthy individuals have large real estate investments," he said.

RERA registration helps in bringing transparency and improves redressal of complaints in real estate transactions, he added.

“In addition to the mandatory requirements, possessing a RERA registration number also offers investors and HNIs that they are dealing with a trustworthy and industry-recognized agent or agency,” said ANAROCK’s Anuj Puri.