Worldway Latest News: Two wealth management and consulting firms released a report on the 19th stating that the global population of high-net-worth individuals with investable assets of $1 million or more increased by 14.7% last year, reaching a record 13.7 million.
The report from RBC Wealth Management and consulting firms stated that this growth rate also means that approximately 2 million people joined the ranks of high-net-worth individuals globally last year, with 70% coming from the United States, Japan, Germany, and China.
The total value of investable assets held by the global wealthy population also grew by 13.8% last year along with the expansion of this group, reaching $52.62 trillion.
Although global economic growth data was lackluster last year, it was still a year in which the global economy began to return to a normal state after years of volatility. Market conditions in the United States and the United Kingdom improved, the Eurozone also saw improvements, Japan worked to emerge from deflation through aggressive policies, and China continued to achieve steady growth.
With the rise of capital markets and improvements in the real estate market, the high-net-worth population in the United States increased by 16.6% last year, reaching 4.01 million, accounting for 29% of the global total. Driven by aggressive stimulus policies, the growth of Japan's wealthy population soared by 22.3%, far higher than the average annual growth rate of 4.6% over the previous five years, with the wealthy population growing to 2.33 million. The population in Germany with $1 million in investable assets increased by 11.4%.
The report states that the number of wealthy individuals in mainland China with more than $1 million increased by 17.8% last year, reaching 758,000. The number of such individuals in Hong Kong, China, increased from 114,000 to 124,000, and in Taiwan from 95,000 to 112,000. Although China's economic growth has slowed, the growth story is not yet over.
Looking at regional markets, the high-net-worth population in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 18.2% last year, while North America, the Middle East, and Europe increased by 17.1%, 16.7%, and 13.7% respectively. The wealthy population in Africa increased by 7.3%, and in Latin America by 2.1%.
The report projects that the investable assets held by the global wealthy population will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 6.9% from 2014 to 2016, reaching $64.3 trillion. The report points out that the investment behavior of the high-net-worth group is becoming increasingly globalized, and they are also relying more on new communication methods such as the internet to manage their assets.
