KUALA LUMPUR (June 13): Affluent Malaysians rank among the most invested in financial products and are looking to put in more than half (52%) of their current cash holdings into investments in the next 12 months.

In a statement on Thursday, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd defined affluent investors as individuals with investable assets ranging from US$100,000 to US$2 million.

HSBC’s new Affluent Investor Snapshot 2024, which surveys investing habits among affluent investors in 11 markets, found that affluent investors in Malaysia are one of the most invested in financial products.

The bank said that aside from cash, unit trusts, stocks, fixed deposits and bonds are the top four savings and investment products that affluent investors currently hold.

It said for future investments, they are looking at exchange traded funds (ETFs), commodities, annuities, and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The survey found that affluent Malaysians hold an average of five products and asset classes in their investment portfolio, higher than the global average.

It said that 47% of affluent Malaysians plan to invest more in other markets, higher than the global average of 41%.

Affluent Malaysians are very engaged in their investment portfolios, HSBC said, judging by the frequency at which they monitor their investments, which is at nine times per month — one of the highest among the markets surveyed.

HSBC Malaysia country head of wealth and personal banking Linda Yip said that based on the survey findings on Malaysia, affluent investors are strengthening their portfolios by adopting an asset diversification strategy and by putting more cash to work.

“We view this as an encouraging trend, as these investors look to build resilient financial portfolios and this is where HSBC can help, with our holistic wealth managements tools, such as Wealth Dashboard/Wealth on Mobile, and our bespoke financial solutions catered to our HSBC Premier customers.

“Malaysia is a fast-growing wealth hub, and we are looking to build on this narrative further, as our customers strengthen their financial portfolios and accumulate their wealth,” she said.