Jio Financial Services Ltd is moving ahead with its asset management joint venture with BlackRock, having appointed key leadership besides developing its technology infrastructure, managing director and chief executive Hitesh Sethia said.
“We look forward to receiving necessary approvals for this business from the regulator at the appropriate time and commence operations thereafter,” Sethia said at the company’s first annual general meeting (AGM) after its listing.
“Our knowledge of the Indian market and consumer, and distribution reach, coupled with BlackRock’s renowned asset management expertise, will help us bring world-class investment products to Indians, spanning mutual funds, wealth management and brokerage services,” he added.
In August 2023, Jio spun off its financial services businesses and delisted the unit as Jio Financial Services. In July 2024, the company received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to become a primary investment company (CIC).
In July 2023, the company had announced a joint venture with BlackRock for an asset management firm and later in April 2024, it expanded the partnership to include wealth management and brokerage services.
“This is a demonstration of the faith that both the joint venture partners have in the prospects of the Indian market, at a time when financialisation of household savings in India is growing at a rapid pace,” Sethia said.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees more than $10 trillion in assets.
As a new-generation digital-first financial services institution, Jio Financial’s technology stack will be a key differentiator and provide cost advantages, Sethia said, adding that the company is not “burdened by legacy technology” and has successfully implemented a modular, scalable and cloud-based technology stack.
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“Our technology backbone will support our distribution approach, which will be direct-to-customer, digital or at the point of sale integrated into the customer journey.” Data analytics (using data from credit bureaus, account aggregators and other sources) will also play a central role, he added.
The Jio Finance app, launched in May 2024, has crossed one million downloads, he said. The app’s current services include mutual fund loans, savings accounts, UPI bill payments, digital insurance and recharges. More products will be added soon, Sethia added.
Jio Financial’s business is focused on four pillars (borrow, transact, invest and protect), which include lending and leasing, payment solutions and payments banking, insurance and mutual fund broking, as well as wealth management and brokerage services.
Jio Finance is also making rapid inroads into the lending business with secure products like supply chain finance, mutual fund lending and device financing solutions.
“We are also in an advanced phase of launching housing loans, which have been launched in beta mode. Other products, such as property-secured loans and collateral-secured loans, are in the development process.”
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