India will leapfrog over a number of developed countries to become the eighth largest wealth market in the next 10 years, says a report based on a new measuring  indicator, The Household Wealth Index.

Titled Evolving Fortunes, the Household Wealth Index is the first forward forecast of its kind, and predicts that the number of Indian dollar-millionaire households will increase from a currently negligible number to in excess of 400,000 in just 10 years.

Co developed by Barclays and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) the new wealth index is said to be the first predictive study of its kind, to measure wealthy households in 50 countries categorised by asset bands of $500,000, $1 million, and $3 million.

Additionally, the report says that India's mass affluent population will again grow from a negligible amount to nearly two million people by 2017.

the report forecasts the rise of emerging markets like India, displacing more developed economies, with China, Russia and Brazil also reaching the top 12 wealthiest country rankings, marking a global shift in the distribution of wealth, which will result in the terms 'G7' or 'developed' as an outmoded categorisation for wealthy economies.

The report also includes qualitative research in the form interviews with global wealth experts, economists, academics and senior executives from businesses targeting a high-net worths.  It also  includes interviews with representatives from Barclays Bank to profile high-net worth individuals in emerging markets and build on comparisons with developed markets.

India has one of the fastest-growing affluent markets in the world
The Household Wealth Index shows that India will experience one of the largest absolute increases in number of dollar millionaires over the next decade, surpassing several developed economies like Canada, Spain, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Italy. India will be preceded by the US, China, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy in the overall wealth rankings in 2017.
  
Satya Bansal, chief executive officer of Barclays Wealth, India, says, ''This report reflects a seismic shift in world wealth holdings, with increasing focus on emerging countries like India in the global wealth management industry''.

According to the report, in less than two decades, India has transformed from a slow-growing agrarian to one of the world's most dynamic economies, growing at an average of more than eight per cent per annum over the past three years, and 8.7 per cent in the recent fiscal year. India is the 2nd fastest-growing economy in the world, and has witnessed an economic boom that has led to an unprecedented level of wealth creation.

Real estate and gold are choice investments for wealthy Indians
The wealthy in India have exhibited a strong preference for tangible investments, preferring to hold over half their savings in physical assets such as real estate and gold. According to the report, Indian real estate has generated stellar returns on the back of low interest rates, strong demand and a huge influx of investment from sovereign wealth funds and Middle East investment groups, among others.

The research says that property accounts for around 43 per cent of overall household wealth.

Traditionally one of the world's largest consumers of gold, recent estimates suggest Indians own $200 billion worth of gold, an amount equivalent to half of the country's bank deposits.

Bansal says, ''We are seeing a cultural change driving attitudes towards wealth in India. Composition of assets of wealthy Indians is increasingly shifting from physical assets to financial assets. We foresee a huge potential in the creation of financial assets, as real estate and gold still account for more than half of household wealth in India. With this, comes the need for increasing focus on financial risks and the tools to manage the same.

Many wealthy Indians who see themselves as low risk investors have built skewed portfolios in specific asset classes. For them, the perception of risk is at a different level having seen annual returns of 30-40 per cent in the last few years.''