Institutional investors from all backgrounds including family offices, hedge funds, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds need to take a step back and think about how the optics of locations are changing along with how that will subsequently affect a wide variety of global markets.
Kicking things off and something we covered in a previous blog post, for hundreds of years the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has been foundationary for stock markets globally by creating liquidity and stability in various ways, and due to such many legendary investors have up until recently lived in or around NYC (the financial capital of the world) because that’s where the action was.
Fast forward to today, especially in the past 2 years, it’s interesting how the most successful investors are flocking to Miami along with other international hubs such as Mumbai to expand their horizons for potentially more favorable business/tax climates, looser regulatory requirements, more favorable time zones for trading, proximity to the best talent globally, etc. while also listening/learning to prepare for opportunities that may be around the corner in the future.
With 1 out of every 6 humans on the planet now being of Indian descent, the impact is global. As an emerging force, Mumbai is being propelled by a burgeoning middle class and its emergence as a powerhouse financial center which must not be underestimated and should come as no surprise. Another hot spot in India is Bangalore – labeled the “Silicon Valley of India” – and continues to make waves by fostering the best talent.
With technology progressing rapidly especially when it comes to AI and how it’s been implemented in the financial space, is someone’s expertise better spent on the floor of the stock exchange trying to make individual moves at the utmost capability of what humans can physically process or is it better to let technology do 99% of the heavy lifting then interjecting as the human expert to finish off the last 1%? We all know the answer to such.
That ties back to one of the trends we are seeing and anticipate spiking in 2026 and beyond: Institutional investors of all types taking a more global and fluid approach to where they’re physically located based on a wide variety of factors. And Mumbai along with other hotspots in India will continue to dominate.