Asia’s millionaires now control more of the world’s wealth than those in North America and Europe, according to a new report. Finance firm Capgemini’s annual World Wealth Report shows wealth in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 10 per cent, compared to a world average of four per cent, putting it at the top of the rankings for the first time in the 20-year history of the survey. In 2015, Asia-Pacific held US$17.4 trillion (£11.75trn) in wealth with a 5.1 million high net worth individuals in comparison to North America’s US$16.6 trillion (£11.2trn) in HNWI wealth and 4.8 million in population. Millionaires held nearly $60 trillion (£40 trillion) worldwide last year, four times higher than 30 years ago. That could rise to $100 trillion by 2025, Capgemini said. Capgemini found the growth in Asia was driven mainly by financial services, technology and health care industries. “Using a more aggressive growth projection, if markets in Asia-Pacific continue to grow at its 2006 to 2015 rate, Asia-Pacific will represent two-fifths of the world’s HNWI wealth in ten years, more than that of Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa combined,” said Capgemini. “Japan and China stand out as regional dynamos, driving almost 60 percent of global HNWI population growth in 2015.” Latin America was impaired by the poor performance of Brazil, which lost momentum in both HNWI population (-8 per cent) and wealth (-6 per cent). Europe’s millionaires saw a 4.8% increase in wealth, which was led by Spain despite the country’s record unemployment. The UK had the fifth highest number of high net worth individuals, although it only increased 1% to 553,000. The World Wealth Report from Capgemini is the industry-leading benchmark for tracking high net worth individuals (HNWIs), their wealth, and the global and economic conditions that drive change in the Wealth Management industry. Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, questioned more than 800 wealth managers across 15 major wealth markets in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, to assess the evolving role of wealth managers. Looking ahead, the report predicts that the pace of change in the wealth management sector will accelerate with disruption in four key areas: clients, operations, regulations, and digital technology. Anirban Bose, head of global banking and capital markets at Capgemini, added: “The latest World Wealth Report findings reinforce the need for firms to adapt to meet evolving client and manager expectations alike, as nothing less than a high level of digital maturity will be adequate in the face of digitally-native competitor providers.”
More of the world's wealth is now controlled by millionaires in Asia than in North America and Latin America, according to a Capgemini report. In 2015, Asia-Pacific's high net worth individuals (HNWI) held $17.4tn of wealth across 5.1 million people compared to North America’s $16.6tn across 4.8 million HNWI. Capgemini said that Asian wealth grew by 10%, compared to the worldwide average of 4%, driven primarily by the financial services, technology, and healthcare industries. According to the report, if growth in the region continues at the current rate, Asia-Pacific will represent two-fifths of the world’s HNWI wealth in ten years, "more than that of Latin America, Europe, and Middle East and Africa combined."