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The family office playbook for off-market real assets.

How Indian family offices can decide, verify, structure and exit direct real-asset positions with institutional discipline. Seventeen pages, written for principals, CIOs and family office heads.

Get the playbook

The investment policy, the committee and the dashboard now exist for funds and listed holdings. The land parcel or the hotel is still usually decided on a relationship, a broker’s message and a title opinion commissioned after the term sheet. This playbook closes that gap.

What is inside.

  1. 01The state of Indian family office capital
  2. 02The real-asset gap
  3. 03Operating models for real assets
  4. 04Governance for direct real-asset decisions
  5. 05Anatomy of an off-market deal
  6. 06Asset-class playbooks
  7. 07Structuring and execution
  8. 08Real-asset risk register
  9. 09From liquidity event to real-asset portfolio
  10. 10The 90-day action plan

Seven ideas from the executive summary.

  1. Family capital is moving to alternatives, but real assets are mostly bought through wrappers.REITs, InvITs and real-estate AIFs give liquidity and governance, but not the control, entry pricing or structuring flexibility families want from real estate.
  2. Direct real-asset decisions remain the least institutionalised part of the family office.Most investment policy documents are silent on land, operating assets and joint ventures, so those decisions default back to the founder.
  3. Off-market does not mean better-priced.It means less information. Without mandate verification, the same asset reaches a family through three intermediaries at three prices, and the family inherits the dispute.
  4. Verification has to precede negotiation.Authority to sell, title chain, approval status and encumbrances should be confirmed before a letter of intent, not after.
  5. Structure decides returns as much as price.Asset deal or share transfer, joint development or outright purchase, SPV or direct holding can swing stamp duty, tax and exit liquidity materially.
  6. Operating real assets need operating partners.Hotels, hospitals and senior living are businesses with a building attached. Underwriting the building alone misprices them.
  7. Exit is an entry decision.Every direct position should carry a named exit route, buyer universe and holding-period assumption at committee approval.

The six gates for an off-market deal.

A deal that cannot clear a gate does not advance, however attractive the price. Price never overrides a failed gate.

  1. Source and authority
  2. Desktop verification
  3. Commercial screen
  4. Indicative terms
  5. Full diligence
  6. Close and post-close

Who wrote it.

Asia Investors Society is a principal-to-principal capital intermediation platform. We verify who can sell an asset, then introduce family offices, UHNIs and institutions to off-market real-asset mandates across India and select international markets. The playbook draws on our mandates across land, hospitality and healthcare real estate. The frameworks and exhibits are ours.

Questions.

Is the playbook free?

Yes. Enter your name and email and we send you a private link to the PDF. There is no charge and no obligation.

Who is it written for?

Principals, CIOs and family office heads deploying Rs 5 crore to Rs 2,000 crore into Indian real assets outside listed markets. It is deliberately narrow: it does not argue why families should own alternatives, it covers how to decide, verify, structure and exit a direct or off-market position.

What do you do with my details?

We use them to send you the playbook and to reply if you write back. We add you to Capital Notes only if you tick the second box. The privacy policy explains how long we keep your details and how to ask us to erase them.

Where do the market figures come from?

Chapter 01 reproduces third-party estimates as cited in the Julius Baer and EY Indian family office playbook (August 2026). Asia Investors Society has not independently verified them. The frameworks, exhibits, checklists and asset-class views are our own.

Is this investment, legal or tax advice?

No. It is for information only and does not take into account any reader’s objectives or circumstances. Take advice from qualified advisors before any transaction.

For information only. Not investment, legal or tax advice. Third-party figures are reproduced as cited and may be out of date. This publication is not affiliated with or endorsed by Julius Baer or EY.