Mar 21, 2012
The affluent in Singapore are losing confidence in their wealth and are looking for tangible investment options.
According to Channel News Asia, a Standard Chartered survey concluded that many of Singapore's affluent have declined in wealth confidence due to uncertain economic landscape.
The study by Standard Chartered Bank and Scorpio Partnership is a FuturePriority Report 2012 that aims to capture sentiments of over 2,700 affluent individuals across nine markets in Asia.
The markets included 300 individuals from Singapore with an average annual income of S$159, 290 (US$126,000).
The survey showed that while the confidence level is lower than the year before (76 per cent) a majority of Singapore's affluent (70 per cent) remain confident in growing their wealth in the next 12 months.
Channel News Asia noted that while "Singaporeans are bullish on Asia,” about a third of Asian respondents view Europe and North America as "offering good wealth creation prospects in the next 12 months.”
During a five-year horizon these numbers have risen substantially, particularly for the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
The Singaporeans surveyed were shown to aim to increase their wealth to an average of S$4.5 million (US$3.6 million) from a current average wealth of S$1.5 million (US$1.2 million).
The Asian affluent showed a preference for tangible investment options, stating gold (44 per cent), high interest savings (43 per cent), and real estate (34 per cent) as their top choices.
However, it was reported that "Singaporeans are less bullish on gold and opt for high interest savings and shares as investment preference.
To achieve the wealth gold over an average of 10.9 years, they need 10 per cent annual returns on their wealth.
Still, the average Asian affluent is seen as more aggressive, aiming to grow their wealth by 12 per cent per annum over the next 10 years to S$5 million (US$4 million).
The highest money goal is set in South Korea (US$6 million), followed by India (US$4.8 million) and China (US$4.5 million).
