Aditya Birla Management, the Mumbai based conglomerate best known for its metals and materials businesses, is to set up a real estate and private equity arm for its wealth management units.

According to a report by the Asian Investor, chief executive of Aditya Birla Management’s financial unit in Mumbai, Ajay Srinivasan said the poor performance of Indian equities prompted the group to offer its clients alternative products for investment.

The report said that real estate investments would be managed through its asset management business, Birla Sun Life Asset Management.

To lead the operation, Birla has appointed Shashi Kumar as head of real estate. Kumar was a founding member and CIO at IndiaReit and is said to be one of few professionals to have completed an investment cycle of fund raising, deployment and exit in India’s relatively immature real estate arena.

Popularity: 19% [?]