Wealthy Taiwanese accumulated more wealth last year and many are looking at higher investment returns in the coming three years, a survey by CTBC Bank (中信銀行) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan released on Thursday showed.
The number of Taiwanese with a high net worth, defined as people with more than NT$30 million (US$1.02 million) in investment assets, increased 1.1 percent to 317,000, while their assets rose 3.6 percent to NT$18.7 trillion, the survey showed.
A stable global economy and bull markets worldwide accounted for the increase, CTBC Bank vice executive president Albert Lee (李玉秋) told a news conference, adding that the trend suggests ample business opportunity for wealth management and asset allocation.
A large majority of respondents (67 percent) intend to activate plans to pass on their wealth or business to their children, while 56 percent are taking cues from wealth management institutions, according to the survey, which was conducted between July and October last year.
Many said they wish to protect their children’s living standards, guide their career plans, advance family harmony and preserve their financial independence, the survey showed.
However, younger people said they desire to know how much they will inherit to better plan their careers and forecast opportunity costs, the survey showed.
They also expressed a desire to help maintain family harmony and gain a better understanding of the time and complexity associated with the inheritance, it added.
Rich Taiwanese were upbeat about their portfolio, with 43 percent of respondents looking at investment returns of between 5 and 8 percent over the next three years, while another 23 percent expect the returns to exceed 8 percent, the survey showed.
Fifty-seven percent hold financial assets in overseas markets to diversity investment risks and take advantage of higher returns, it showed.
Of those polled, 62 percent said they have assets targeting China and plan to raise stakes in the US and Southeast Asia.
The survey results provide local financial institutions with a better understanding of their customers to enable them to design products and services to fulfill customers’ wishes, PwC Taiwan head Joseph Chou (周建宏) said.
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