Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday made a strong pitch for redirecting India’s household savings into capital markets, arguing that the country’s long-standing preference for physical assets like gold has held back productive wealth creation at a time when India is entering a powerful growth phase.

Speaking alongside BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Ambani said Indian households have been “very consistent savers” over the last four to five decades, but a large part of that savings has not been channelled into productive assets. He pointed out that India has imported billions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver over the years, largely as a store of domestic savings, which does little to compound wealth or support economic growth.

“If we can convince Indian savers to invest in Indian capital markets in a safe and transparent way, there are returns to be taken,” Ambani said, underscoring the opportunity that lies in shifting household money from idle assets into equities and financial instruments that grow with the economy.

According to Ambani, investing remains too complicated for a large part of the population. Simplifying access to financial markets, he said, should be a basic demand of India’s younger generation.