It had long been expected but now that day has arrived, and after another record year of growth, Asia is officially the worlds wealthiest region. Wealth expansion over the coming decades looks likely to be dominated by the region too. 

According to the 20th edition of the World Wealth Report (WWR), released by global consultancy group Capgemini, Asia-Pacific for the first time, is ahead of North America for both High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) wealth and population.

In 2015, Asia-Pacific held $17.4 trillion in wealth with a 5.1 million HNWI population in comparison to North America’s US$16.6 trillion in HNWI wealth and 4.8 million in population.

While globally in 2015 HNWI wealth saw only a modest growth of 4 percent, wealth in Asia-Pacific grew at an aggressive 10 percent propelling Asia-Pacific into the lead position as the region with the most HNWI wealth.

Wealth Transfer

Across Asia there is also the dynamic of intergenerational transfer of wealth taking place in the coming years, which is estimated to be in the region of $2.2 trillion. We can expect to see more financial technology influence as the younger generations take the reigns   

Digital Disruption

With HNWI demand for digital services continuing to increase in areas where the growing influence of fintech is strong, such as automated advisory platforms, open investment communities and third party capability plug-ins, wealth management firms cannot afford to fall short in any aspect of their digital strategy. In the past year alone, the report found HNWI demand for automated advisory services has shot up nearly 20 percentage points, from 49 percent in 2015 to 67 percent in 2016.

Decades of Growth Ahead

Asia-Pacific has been a driving force, doubling HNWI wealth and population over the decade. Asia-Pacific’s HNWI wealth grew by 10 percent in 2015 which is almost five times North America’s 2 percent wealth growth in 2015 decelerating substantially from 2014’s 9 percent growth rate. 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.