Why Eton Solutions wants a slice of India’s family office business

What do colonoscopy and wealth management have in common? They both are sensitive but essential for a deep, thorough examination to uncover what’s truly beneath the surface.

That’s precisely the level of scrutiny the US-based Eton Solutions faced when Infosys cofounder NR Narayana Murthy-owned Catamaran Ventures, one of India’s most prominent family offices, rigorously evaluated its platform before signing up as a client. The process, described by Eton’s executive chairman Satyen Patel, as nothing short of a "colonoscopy," involved an exhaustive, no-stone-unturned review that tested every facet of Eton’s wealth management SaaS solution.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Catamaran’s size -- it has a $1.2 billion portfolio comprising a mix of public, private, and fixed-income assets. Catamaran has a portfolio of 45 startups, with the latest investment made in Innoviti (Series E Round) in March 2024. As per Tracxn, over the past 14 years, 618 investors have co-invested in Catamaran's portfolio companies.

Deepak Padaki, president of Catamaran Ventures, tells Fortune India, “We were looking for a platform that combines back-office accounting with front-office reporting. After evaluating options, we chose Eton for its comprehensive capabilities, including ERP functions and workflow management.”

The deal helps Eton network with similar family offices in India, with Patel meeting up with eight potential clients during his recent trip to India. “The collaboration is a strong endorsement of Eton's platform,” says Patel.

One of the key benefits of Eton’s platform is real-time reporting, especially for public market asset classes. “This allows for more immediate decision-making and quicker financial reporting,” says Padaki.

It’s all in the family

The North Carolina-based firm was born from the real-world challenges of wealth management. Initially developed as an in-house solution for Eton Advisors, a multi-family office managing a couple of billions of dollars in assets, the platform is now designed to manage complex portfolios, ranging from liquid assets to art collections, private equity, and even family heirlooms. "This isn’t just a sales pitch," Patel tells Fortune India. "We come from the domain side. We understand the pain points because our evolution came out of a multi-family office (MFO)." Today, the cloud-native product serves over 732 families globally, managing nearly $900 billion in assets.

India represents a significant growth opportunity for Eton, aimed at a specific segment of India’s wealthy — those with at least ₹400 crore (approximately $50 million) in assets. “We view the market as a blue ocean,” says Patel. He sees this demographic -- ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, often located in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities --as ripe for innovation, particularly as many of these families have, historically, relied on more rudimentary tools such as Excel or Tally to keep track of their portfolios.

To cater to this market, Eton has launched a product called the Administrative Family Office (AFO), which offers the same powerful engine used by billionaire families but at a price point that makes it accessible to those with smaller, yet still significant, asset bases. "We’ve democratised the platform," says Patel. The pricing for this service starts at around $100,000 per year, which Patel points out is competitive when considering the full suite of services offered.

With over 300 family offices in India, a significant increase from 45 in 2018, rapid growth is expected in tier-II and tier-III cities. The investment strategies of these family offices are becoming increasingly sophisticated as they are evolving from conservative investments in real estate and mutual funds to embracing multi-market equities and alternative asset classes. “Family offices are increasingly shifting their wealth towards alternative asset classes because of their potential for higher returns and the longer investment horizon that family offices typically have,” says Patel.

Catamaran has signed a multi-year contract with Eton Solutions, moving their backend ERP to this platform, which also involves significant team training due to the new system. Highlighting the complexity and effort involved in such a significant transition, and, hence, ensuring annuity visibility for Eton, Padaki says, “We can't afford to switch over systems every year and, hence, are looking at long-term engagement."

Eton’s decision to formally launch its platform in India was driven by increasing demand from Indian family offices, many of which were establishing bases in global financial hubs such as Singapore, Dubai, and London.

It’s SaSSY!

One of Eton’s key differentiators is its technology backbone, which integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s suite of tools, including Azure, Power BI, and the recently developed EtonGPT™ — an AI-driven tool that enhances data analysis and reporting. Over the past decade, Eton Solutions invested nearly $100 million to transform this software into a comprehensive cloud platform. "Imagine having all your assets, across multiple classes, on a single platform with a single source of truth," explains Patel. "Now add to that the power of EtonGPT™, which acts as a sophisticated data mining tool, allowing you to query your entire portfolio in plain English and get actionable insights in real-time," elaborates Patel. This technology is not just about making data accessible; it’s about making it actionable. For instance, if the US Fed were to hike or cut rates, Eton’s platform allows users to instantly compute the effect across all their investments, whether in stocks, bonds, private equity, or art collections. “We are exploring the new AI features provided by Eton, which are still in the beta phase. These features, built on the Microsoft platform, could enhance research and knowledge management,” says Padaki.

Building the legacy

Eton is positioning itself as a leader in a niche but rapidly growing segment of the wealth management industry. Initially a $3-4 billion multi-family office, Eton was a spinoff from the U.S. Trust after it was sold by Charles Schwab to Bank of America in 2007 for $2.7 billion. The clients, not wanting to move to Bank of America, encouraged the founding partners to establish their independent MFO. As a result, in 2009, Robert Mallernee, Jack Parham, and Eriksson came together, leveraging their expertise from senior executive roles at the MFO businesses at the U.S. Trust and UBS, co-founded Eton Advisors in 2009.

In 2015, Eton Solutions was carved out as an independent tech firm designed to complement their advisory services. "Eton Advisors is now a client as it now runs its own MFO and we are a completely independent firm where 45% of the company is held between the founders and the executive committee," reveals Patel. PE investors, including Navis Capital Partners, own the remainder stake. This ownership structure reflects Eton’s commitment to long-term growth rather than a quick exit. "Every member of our executive committee is an investor in the company," Patel notes, emphasising that the team is deeply invested in Eton’s success, both financially and strategically. In cumulative, Eton has raised $75 million from investors. “We have enough dry powder to fuel our growth,” mentions Patel.