A survey by HSBC found that one-third (33%) of wealthy investors in Hong Kong hold cash in their investment portfolios. However, 39% of respondents also indicated that they plan to reallocate their portfolios in the upcoming year, with over half of their cash holdings (52%) intended for investment purposes.
The “Wealthy Investor Briefing 2024” released by HSBC was compiled from insights of 11,230 individual investors in 11 global markets, including 1,700 affluent individuals from Hong Kong.
Apart from cash and cash equivalents, public equities (15%) and fixed income products (14%) are the two largest single asset categories in the average investment portfolio allocation of global investors. In contrast, affluent investors in Hong Kong primarily hold stocks (54%), time deposits (57%), and bonds (36%).
53% of local respondents indicated that they currently invest in domestic stocks. While the US stock market has shown strong performance since last year, only 34% of respondents have investments in US stocks, reflecting a prevalent “home bias” among wealthy investors in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, there is an increasing openness towards investing in other markets, with 42% planning to increase investments in other overseas markets, particularly favoring mainland China, the US, and the UK.
Sami Abouzahr, Head of Wealth Management and Personal Banking Investments at HSBC Hong Kong, emphasized that the survey data underscores the importance of maintaining a long-term investment perspective and achieving portfolio diversification across different asset classes and markets. As these investors allocate more cash towards investments, this approach will help them establish more flexible investment strategies.