SINGAPORE, Oct 21 — The population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Malaysia grew 6.6 per cent to 65,800 in 2013, while the total wealth of this group increased by 9.3 per cent to US$419.6 billion. This is according to the latest Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2014 by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management, which was released here today.

Speaking to Bernama after the release of the report, Stefan Mueller, Managing Director, Head of Investments and Products, RBC Wealth Management said in terms of the number of population of HNWIs in Asia Pacific, Malaysia ranked at number 10.

In line with the global trend, but in contrast to the regional trend, Mueller said 34.0 per cent demonstrated a greater focus on wealth preservation than growth (30.2 per cent). He said they favoured fixed income over all other investments, allocating 23.4 per cent of their portfolio, versus Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) average of 18.2 per cent.

“We also see that Malaysia very much invest outside the home market. Forty per cent of the assets of these HNWIs are invested outside Malaysia which is quite substantial compared to within Asia-Pacific or the rest of the world,” he said.

Mueller noted the reason for them investing outside the home market was that there were bigger opportunities.

The report said HNWIs in Malaysia are averse to seeking professional financial advice, prefer to work with a single firm, and seek advice on family wealth.

In contrast to the trend in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), 28.3 per cent do not seek financial advice while 21.7 per cent do, 34.0 per cent seek advice on family wealth versus 21.7 per cent on personal wealth. Looking ahead, 84.9 per cent of Malaysia’s HNWIs are confident in their ability to generate wealth in the near future. This confidence comes alongside strong levels of trust in industry stakeholders. Despite strong trust levels, they gave their wealth managers a performance score of 60.5 per cent, lower than Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) average of 67 per cent.

Mueller said 81 per cent of HNWIs in Malaysia felt that it was extremely important to invest according to social expectation. Investing their time, money and/or expertise to drive a positive social impact is important to 100 per cent of HNWIs in Malaysia. Looking at their digital expectations from wealth management firms, 82.1 per cent of HNWIs in Malaysia expect all or most of their wealth management relationship to be conducted through digital channels within five years and 93.4 per cent would consider leaving their firm if an integrated channel experience is not provided. As the Malaysian economy is expected to grow, Mueller was confident that the number of HNWIs in Malaysia would continue to grow next year.  

Meanwhile, according to the report, with Japan and China leading the way, the Asia-Pacific region registered world-leading levels of HNWI population and wealth growth in 2013, with no signs of slowing down.

Commenting on the report earlier, M. George Lewis, Group Head, RBC Wealth Management and RBC Insurance said: “While performance across Asia-Pacific was mixed in 2013, strong economic growth and real estate prices in key markets drove healthy overall wealth growth.

“Asia-Pacific is expected to continue to lead global growth and pass North America as the region with the highest HNWI population by end-2014 and the greatest HNWI wealth by 2015. — Bernama