U.S., Japan, China lead millionaire population growth lastyear: report

05-31

(Xinhua) 18:45, June 19, 2014Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

SINGAPORE, June 19 -- The United States and Japan led the growth in the population ofindividuals with no less than 1 million U.S. dollars of investable wealth as their equity andreal estate markets outperformed, according to a wealth management report releasedThursday.The report by consultancy Capgemini and the RBC Wealth Management, a unit of RoyalBank of Canada, also showed that China "s number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs),or individuals with investable wealth of 1 million U.S. dollars or above, grew by a strong17.8 percent, thanks to the stable growth of the Chinese economy."Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) growth is slowing but the growth rate of China"shigh net worth population was 17.8 percent. So the growth story in China is not over,"Claire Sauvanaud, vice president of Capgemini Financial Services, told a press conferencein Singapore.The world"s total population of high net worth individuals grew by 14.7 percent to 13.7million, which means that near 2 million individuals joined the ranks of millionaires.The 14.7 percent growth was also the fastest since 2000, except for the post-crisisrecovery year of 2009.The report said that the year 2013 marked "a slow return to normalcy that is beginning totake shape following years of economic upheaval" despite the lackluster global economicgrowth figure."Instead of the uncertainty that has reigned for so long, 2013 was marked by fledglingindications of recovery: a still-shaky but notable improvement in the eurozone, anaggressive shift away from deflation in Japan, stable growth in China, and growingmomentum in the U.S. and U.K. economies," the report said.The number of high net worth individuals in the United States grew by 16.6 percent yearon year to 4.01 million in 2013. They account for 29 percent of the global population ofmillionaires.Japan"s HNWI population surged by 22.3 percent to 2.33 million last year, following a moremodest annualized growth of 4.6 percent from 2007 to 2012. This is largely attributable to" significant returns in the equity and real estate markets on the strength of positivesentiment and better economic performance, especially during the first half of 2013," thereport said.Germany, which had the third highest number of high net worth individuals after only theUnited States and Japan, saw a growth of 11.4 percent in its HNWI population.Asia Pacific led the growth in high net worth population growth at 18.2 percent, followed byNorth America, Middle East and Europe at 17.1 percent, 16.7 percent and 13.7 percent,respectively. Latin America recorded only a growth of 2.1 percent in its high net worthpopulation."In Latin America, the economies of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina faced internal issues ofinflation and low investor confidence, in addition to slowing demand for commodity exportsfrom across the globe," the report said.The investable wealth of the world"s high net worth population grew by 13.8 percent to52.62 trillion U.S. dollars in 2013. It has grown by 61 percent over the past five years since2008.The investable wealth of the high net worth population in Latin America is also moreconcentrated in the ultra HNWIs, or those with investable wealth of over 30 million U.S.dollars.The authors of the report said that they expected the investable wealth of the global highnet worth population to grow by 6.9 percent annually through 2016 to hit 64.3 percenttrillion U.S. dollars.Asia Pacific is expected to be the leader with an annual growth rate of 9.8 percent, and it isexpected to "overtake North America in HNWI population in 2014, and in HNWI wealthby 2015," the report said.The high net worth population of Asia Pacific overtook that of North America for the firsttime in 2011 as it increased to 3.37 million while that of North America slightly declined to3.35 million. However, it fell behind North America again in 2012. In 2013, it narrowed thegap with its high net worth population in Asia Pacific increasing to 4.32 million while that ofNorth America going up to 4.33 million.The world"s rich are investing more globally, allocating over a third of their investablewealth outside their home region in early 2014, up from 25 percent in 2013.The digital technologies are also expected to transform the wealth management industry,with 65 percent of the high net worth population expecting to run most or all of theirwealth relationships digitally in five years.Two thirds of the millionaires said that they would consider leaving their wealthmanagement firm if an integrated experience is not provided.This will give the wealth management industry both challenges and potential opportunities,said Stefan Mueller, managing director and head of investments and products, Asia, at theRoyal Bank of Canada Wealth Management.(Editor:Wang Xin、Bianji)Related readingFAO awards China for halving undernourished populationChina"s nurses reach 2.05 per 1,000 populationBeijing"s control will be of poorer populationWe Recommend