KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — A survey has revealed that 80 per cent of local investors have set up new financial goals, namely for retirement, keeping up with rising costs as well as holiday and major life experiences.
According to Standard Chartered’s Wealth Expectancy Report 2022, Malaysian investors cited inflation (40 per cent), an uncertain global economy (28 per cent) and the threat of recession (23 per cent) as their top concerns.
It said rising inflation (34 per cent), an uncertain global economy (27 per cent) and a recession (22 per cent) are key worries for investors internationally too.
‘’To outpace inflation, 61 per cent of global investors are looking to reduce their cash holdings, compared to 53 per cent in Malaysia.
“Standard Chartered predicts that global cash allocations will fall from 26 per cent in 2022 to 15 per cent in 2023, indicated by investor responses,” it said in a statement today.
The report examined the shifts in investor decisions for more than 15,000 emerging affluent, affluent and high-net-worth investors in 14 markets – including Malaysia – along with the resulting movements in major asset classes.
Standard Chartered Malaysia head of consumer, private and business banking, Sammeer Sharma, said Malaysian investors have shown to be quite receptive towards new types of investment assets, with a significant number of them currently holding digital assets.
He said while more investors are taking charge in managing their wealth, professional advice continues to be crucial in ensuring that their decisions align with their objectives.
“We believe that diversified portfolios with multi-asset income generation strategies, combined with personalised advice, will provide some of the best opportunities today.
“This is where our open architecture approach has an edge in offering investors a suite of carefully curated solutions and strategies to meet their long-term goals,” he added.
— Bernama
