Rich Singaporean investors will have among the lowest cash allocations in the year to come: HSBC

Globally, investors want to keep nearly one-third of their portfolios to cash.

Affluent individuals in Singapore are expected to keep their allocations to cash to an average of 27% in the next 12 months, among the lowest globally as investors put their money to work, according to a report by HSBC.

HSBC’s new Affluent Investor Snapshot 2024 revealed that Indonesian and Malaysian investors are also planning to keep cash allocations to 24% and 27%, respectively. This is much lower than the global average with wealthy individuals across the world looking to keep about a third or 32% of their portfolios in cash.

Global investors who are looking to rebalance their portfolios in the next 12 months will likely invest 54% of this cash on average, a trend that is more popular among Gen Zs (61%) and Millennials (56%).

Public equities and fixed income also emerged as among the top picks of affluent individuals to invest in, with global average allocations of 15% and 14%, respectively.

HSBC said rich investors, especially those in Asia, generally want to diversify their portfolios across asset classes, investment instruments and geographies.

“As investors put their cash to work, they will look for actionable views and solutions that directly address their needs,” said Lavanya Chari, Global Head of Investments and Wealth Solutions at HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth. 

Affluent investors are individuals with US$100,000 to US$2 million in investable assets.

Singaporeans were found to be the biggest savers in Southeast Asia based on a separate survey.