Asia's high net worth individuals to reach 2.82m by 2015

New report also reveals their evolving lifestyle.

According to the latest Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, the number of Asian High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) will increase by roughly 650,000 in the next two years from 2.17m in 2013 to 2.82m in 2015.

Also, the cost of living in luxury for Asia’s HNWIs continues to outpace standard measures of inflation, albeit at a slightly slower pace than was seen in 2012.

“Evidence continues to mount that Asia’s growth and wealth creation engine has decoupled from mature economies, and there are clear indications that China in particular is moving up the value chain. We anticipate that the number of HNWIs in Asia will grow from the estimated level of 2.17 million in 2013 to at least 2.82 million HNWIs in Asia (excluding Japan) by 2015," said Stefan Hofer, Emerging Market Economist and lead author of the report.

The broader Julius Baer Wealth Report, of which the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index is part of, also painted a picture of the shifting concerns and consumption of Asian HNWIs.

In both US dollar (11%) and local currency (16.7%) terms, Mumbai saw the highest increase in cost of luxury goods and services over the past year.

While most of the twenty index constituents for Shanghai rose year-on-year, the moderation in luxury property prices constrained the overall increase. Excluding property and equally weighting the other items, Shanghai luxury living costs rose by 10% in renminbi terms.

In keeping with the 2012 outcome, the cost of university education has shown the highest increase for this year, up more than 30% for all markets. This raises important issues for parents and applicants, beyond simply the rising costs.

Also, the second highest average increase was seen in high-end wine, which increased more than 16% on average across all markets. Commentary by leading wine experts indicates that Asia’s wine tastes are rapidly evolving, suggesting that prestigious wine labels may rise at a slower rate in the future.