Jio Financial advances BlackRock partnership, readies tech stack for market entry #IndustryFinance

Jio Financial Services Ltd is advancing its asset management joint venture with BlackRock, having appointed key leadership besides developing its technology infrastructure, said managing director and chief executive officer Hitesh Sethia.

“We are hopeful of receiving the necessary approvals for this business from the regulator at the appropriate time, and commencing operations thereafter,” Sethia said at the company’s first annual general meeting (AGM) post-listing.

“Our understanding of the Indian market and consumer, and distribution reach; coupled with BlackRock’s renowned expertise in asset management will help us bring world-class investment products to Indians—spanning mutual funds, wealth management services and broking,” he added.

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In August 2023, Jio demerged its financial services businesses and delisted the unit as Jio Financial Services. In July 2024, the company received an approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert into a core investment company (CIC).

In July 2023, the company had announced a joint venture with BlackRock for an asset management firm, and subsequently, in April 2024, it expanded the partnership to include wealth management and broking services.

“This is a demonstration of the faith that both JV partners have in the prospects of the Indian market, at a time when the financialization of household savings in India is growing at a rapid clip,” said Sethia.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees over $10 trillion in assets.

As a new-age, digital-first financial services institution, Jio Financial’s technology stack will be a key differentiator and provide cost advantages, said Sethia, adding that company is not “weighed down by legacy technology” and has successfully implemented a modular, scalable and cloud-first technology stack.

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“Our tech backbone will support our distribution approach, which will be direct to customer, digital or at the point of sale embedded in the customer journey.” Data analytics—utilizing data from credit bureaus, account aggregators, and other sources—will also play a central role, he added.

The Jio Finance application, launched in May 2024, has surpassed one million downloads, he said. Current services on the app include loans on mutual funds, savings accounts, UPI bill payments, digital insurance and recharges. More products to be added soon, Sethia added.

Jio Financial’s business focuses on four pillars—borrow, transact, invest, protect—which comprises lending and leasing, payment solutions and payments bank, insurance broking and mutual funds, as well as wealth management and broking services.

Jio Finance is also rapidly advancing lending business with secured products like supply chain financing, loans on mutual funds, and device financing solutions.

“We are also in advanced stages of launching home loans, which have been rolled out in beta mode. Other products, such as loans against property and loan on securities, are in the pipeline.”