The Indian Sub-continent is home to the most financially ambitious of the world’s “future wealthy”, with people there believing they need to accrue more than $9m to achieve their goals, a study has found.
The Futurewealth Report claims to be the first of its kind to seek to gain an insight into the habits and attitudes of the high net worth clients of tomorrow.
The average wealth of the more than 1,400 people who took part in the survey, which was carried out by strategy consultancy Scorpio Partnership and sponsored by Standard Chartered Private Bank, was US$2m but all those surveyed said they needed at least US$7m to meet their life objectives.
Scorpio said those taking part came from all walks of life, from entrepreneurs and business executives to academics and those on career breaks.
North Americans had the lowest target figure of respondents to achieve their ambitions, with a figure pf US$7.14m, while for those in the Indian Sub-continent the sum was US$9.07m, the highest for the regions covered. The UK had the second highest target of US$8.09m.
Confidence
According to the study, there was general confidence among the future wealthy about their economic prospects, despite the global downturn. Nearly 80% said they would grow their wealth in 2010, while more than 40% said they were better off now than when the financial crisis began.
The highest levels of confidence were in emerging markets, where more than 80% of those surveyed expected to increase their net worth in the next 12 months.
Wealth personalities
The report said they were four “personalities of wealth”; the quietly confident; family activists; headliners and life surfers, each with their own distinct characteristics and goals. Traits in each variously ranged from spending on and planning for families’ futures, being career driven and neglecting family for work and spending focused on leisure activities and material goods.
Sebastian Dovey, managing partner of Scorpio Partnership, said: “Our objective with Futurewealth is to understand on a global and massive scale the zeitgeist of modern wealth.
“In particular, we wish to detail how the wealth holder of tomorrow connects their fortune with every aspect of their lives. This first foray has produced staggering results that will serve to realign the way all companies – either financial or non-financial – approach the wealthy customer of tomorrow.”
The report is the first in what is planned to be a series of studies into the high net worth individuals of the future.
