A new report shows that while over half of high net worth individuals across Hong Kong and Singapore hope to be active in their investments, they cite a lack of financial knowledge and advice as a major hurdle.

Quilter International’s report said that 53 percent of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in the dual Asian hubs want to be actively involved in managing their wealth.

But despite the desire to be hands-on, 47 percent claim that lacking financial knowledge as their greatest concern.

The research was conducted by Aon Client Insight in 2020 on behalf of Quilter International with online surveys of over 100 HNWIs in Hong Kong (51) and Singapore (56) with at least $3 million in investable assets.

No Good Advice?

Despite the ample services and capabilities made available in the wealth management hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore, nearly half claim they lack the professional advice necessary, though the latter city fared better at 34 percent.

«HNWIs are understandably interested in being a part of the wealth management decision-making process but are also keen to seek professional advice to help guide their decisions and currently feel they lack access to it,» said Quilter International's Singapore CEO Ian Kloss. 

Succession Planning

The issue of lacking advice extends beyond investments into succession planning, where the issue is not raised by financial firms first but families (43 percent) and friends (21 percent). 

Only 30 percent of HNWIs surveyed said they had discussions with wealth managers about the importance of wealth transfer and inheritance plans and the figure plummets to just 16 percent for beneficiaries. 54 percent of high net worth donors expect the industry to better educate them about the most effective solutions and structures for wealth transferal.  

«Without a good level of financial and technical knowledge or an understanding of why wealth transfer plans are important, HNWIs may be prone to inaction or making the wrong decisions,» Kloss said. «We believe wealth managers and financial advisers can play a critical role in introducing the topic, exposing its significance and getting families aligned.»