Neo Group Expands into Investment Banking Under Vikas Khattar: Roles and Market Impact

Neo Wealth and Asset Management, known as Neo Group, announced on 4 November 2026 that it is entering investment banking, Business Standard reports. It is a move from a specialised wealth manager towards a full financial-services firm, aimed at corporate clients, promoter groups and institutional investors who need end-to-end capital solutions.

To lead the new unit from Mumbai, Neo Group has appointed Vikas Khattar as Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, The Wire reports. Khattar joins the Group Executive Leadership Team and is building the corporate advisory and capital-markets practice from scratch, at a time when mid-market and large Indian firms are increasingly looking for help with equity issues, buyouts and private capital raises.

Backing and licence

Neo Group is backed by Peak XV Partners and TVS Capital, Mint reports, and has applied for a merchant banking licence, a regulatory requirement for handling public issues, rights issues and formal transaction advisory in India. Nitin Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Neo Group, called investment banking "an important step towards our ambition of building a comprehensive financial services institution," per The Wire.

Who Vikas Khattar is

Khattar brings over 30 years in investment banking and capital markets across South and Southeast Asia, and has worked on more than 400 transactions: IPOs, QIPs, M&A and private equity placements, The Wire reports. He was most recently Managing Director and Head of ECM and Financial Sponsors Coverage, and Co-Head of Investment Banking, at Ambit Private Limited, per CXO Movements, with earlier stints at Jefferies, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and DSP Merrill Lynch. He was Vice Chairman of the Association of Investment Bankers of India from 2022 to 2025.

What the new unit will do

VCCircle reports three pillars: Equity Capital Markets (IPOs, FPOs, QIPs, rights issues), M&A advisory (buyouts, divestitures, joint ventures, restructuring) and private equity fundraising (helping companies raise institutional capital from PE funds, sovereign funds and family offices).

What this means for hiring

People Matters reports the build-out will drive hiring across Senior Dealmakers and Relationship Directors (client coverage and deal origination), ECM Specialists (pricing, prospectus work, syndicate management), M&A Advisory Managers (valuation, deal structuring, negotiation), PE Syndication Leads (investor mapping and placement memos) and Financial Modelling Analysts (three-statement models, DCF, pitch books).

Business Standard points to specific skills in demand: SEBI merchant-banking and ICDR rule knowledge, ECM structuring (book-building, pricing mechanics), deal sourcing, financial due diligence, and institutional coverage of mutual funds, FPIs, insurers and family offices.

Finploy's own pay data for Indian BFSI gives a sense of where this is heading for candidates: campus hires from IIM Ahmedabad went into BFSI roles at an average of about Rs 38 lakh in 2025, with the top offer near Rs 1.1 crore, and senior wealth, treasury and investment-banking packages in India go past Rs 50 lakh. A well-funded new entrant like Neo Group, building a desk from zero, widens the pool of employers competing for talent at this end of the pay ladder, not just the handful of established houses that have historically set the benchmark.

Where BFSI hiring is concentrated

Finploy's own job data for 7 November 2026 counts 44,990 open positions across Indian banks, NBFCs, insurers, asset managers and financial advisory firms.

Mumbai's 11,225 open roles reflect its position as India's investment-banking and capital-markets hub, exactly where Neo Group has chosen to build.

Frequently asked questions

What strategic expansion has Neo Group announced?

According to Business Standard, Neo Group announced its entry into the investment banking sector to build a comprehensive financial services institution, expanding beyond its wealth and asset management businesses.

Who has been appointed to head Neo Group's investment banking division?

According to The Wire, industry veteran Vikas Khattar has been appointed as Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman – Investment Banking to lead the new division from Mumbai.

What are the core pillars of Neo Group's new investment banking practice?

According to VCCircle, the new division will focus on three core pillars: Equity Capital Markets (ECM), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) advisory, and Private Equity (PE) fundraising.