Asia has long been tipped to become the globe’s largest market for wealth management solutions but the newly released Asia Pacific Wealth Report 2013, published by CapGemini and RBC Wealth Management suggests that it could now happen as soon as 2014.
Growth trends in both emerging and mature Asian territories pushed the wealth held by HNW investors within the Asia Pacific region to USD12.0 trillion in 2012. With the wealth coffers of North America calculated to hold USD12.7 trillion, Asia may quickly overtake North America to claim pole position.
So what do UHNW individuals in Asia want?
Within the report, the CapGemini, RBC Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership Global HNW Insights Survey 2013 found that the specific preferences of Asian investors are crying out for a tailor made value proposition targeted specifically at Asian markets.[i]
Asia’s wealthiest individuals (with the exception of those in Japan) are more likely to think of their financial needs as complex than investors located in other parts of the world.
They are more frequently focused on goal-oriented activity rather than benchmarks and they want advice that can cover their entire family’s wealth management needs.
Whilst hungry for more information on financial products, investor education packages and day-to-day engagement from wealth managers, Asian clients expect this material to be filtered and personalized.
They’ve also come of age in an era and market that has digital firmly embedded in its DNA. Asian HNW investors expect their wealth managers to be as digitally savvy as they are and will rapidly expect a higher level of digital interaction than that offered by many international players.
When it comes to products, Asian clients are quick to become dis-satisfied with in-house products, expecting customized services that speak to their individual circumstances and investing needs.
Of course, this all adds up to a rather demanding shopping list, but with the Asian super rich committed to their demands – and willing to pay for tailored solutions – there’s an interesting future ahead.
Written by Cath Tillotson, MD at Scorpio Partnership
[i] The findings of the CapGemini, RBC Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership Global HNW Insights Survey 2013 are based on research with 1,400 HNWIs across six markets in Asia: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore, which formed part of the wider survey of 4,400 HNWIs across 21 major wealth markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
