Survey suggests 71% of high net worth individuals have invested in digital assets

Capgemini's survey indicates that 71 percent of the world's high net worth individuals are investing in digital assets

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

Capgemini, a technology consulting firm, released its World Wealth Report for 2022 on June 14, which surveyed over 2,973 global High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs). The report indicated that about 71 percent of these wealthy individuals had invested in digital assets.

Of the individuals surveyed, 54 percent possessed wealth ranging from $1 million to $30 million, and 46 percent possessed a wealth of $30 million and over.

The survey considered the investment preferences for varied classes like digital assets, related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse-related products. One of every seven wealthy people investing in digital assets was aged below 40 years.

Capgemini’s report has come in shortly after research by Accenture, which indicated that in Q1 2022, 52 percent of wealthy investors in Asia held some form of digital assets, which make up 7 percent of the surveyed investors’ holdings.

Accenture, however, also found that most wealth management firms have no plans to offer any digital asset exposure or related services. These firms have been slow to adapt to the new digital currency landscape and adopt investment products with crypto.

Crypto does not make up most of HNWI’s holdings. On average, they only have 14 percent allocated to alternative investments, including crypto, hedge funds, currencies, and private equity.

Hinting at the inclusion of digital assets in investments, Nilesh Vaidya, Capgemini’s head of retail wealth management, said, “The influx of new investment avenues such as sustainable investing and digital assets is having a crucial impact on the wealth management industry. Wealth management firms must prioritise providing timely education around this trend to retain their customers.”

Several firms are trying to gain the advantage of making the first move in this sector with expanding possibilities. They are launching investment products which are targeted at the demographic.

Private banking clients for BBVA Switzerland have been given access to custody services and crypto trading. Wells Fargo provided similar offerings in 2021 as well. Morgan Stanley introduced a special feature for its millionaire clientele in March 2021. It introduced exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) investment for only those who held $2 million or more in the capital.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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