Wealth

Despite the commonly-held belief that tax considerations primarily drive offshore investment, only 23.2% of global high net worth (HNW) wealth is invested offshore for tax reasons, while 24.1% derives from HNW individuals seeking access to a greater range of investment options, according to financial services research and insight firm Verdict Financial.

Barclays hosted its fifth annual UK Savings Conference on 8th June 2016, and the key takeaway was that Robo-Advice would have a significant role to play in closing the advice gap, but is akin to the rise of internet banking in the early 2000s.

Over 86% of German wealth managers working with high net worth (HNW) individuals believe that they will lose market share to automated investment services over the next two years, according to financial services research and insight firm Verdict Financial.

With the market already down more than 20% (the Russell 2000 lost -25.7% from its high on June 23 2015 to February 11 2016), research by Royce reveals that in eight of the nine previous bear markets within the Russell 2000, the market was up on average 17.3% over the following 12 months.

According to Andrew Haslip, Verdict Financial’s Head of Content in Asia-Pacific for Private Wealth Management, as long as HNW clients remain focused on the search for yield and superior investments, they will be attracted to the more freewheeling offshore sector. Offshore financial centres that can offer the sophisticated investments prohibited in more tightly regulated onshore retail investment markets will continue to see strong inflows.