KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): Malaysian households’ gross financial assets grew 6.2% to €769 billion (RM3.56 trillion) in 2025, a decline from 8.7% growth a year earlier, according to Allianz Research.

In a statement on Wednesday, the pace of growth was also below the 9.8% average for the Asian markets covered by the study, excluding Japan and China, as well as the global growth rate of 8.6%, Allianz Research said in its 17th Global Wealth Report released on Tuesday.

Insurance and pension assets were the main contributor to the increase, rising 11.1% during the year. This was followed by securities, which grew 2.8%, and deposits, which rose 2.3%.

Deposits and savings held through the Employees Provident Fund continued to account for the bulk of Malaysian households’ financial assets, making up 68% of the total.

The report, which examines household wealth and debt across almost 60 countries, showed that Malaysian financial assets grew by 4.7% in real terms in 2025, which is lower than 6.7% in 2024, after accounting for inflation.

Since 2019, Allianz Research said Malaysia’s financial assets have increased 21.9% in real terms, compared with a 22.9% rise globally and a 39.6% increase across the surveyed Asian markets.

Household liabilities rose at a slower pace than assets, increasing 5.6% to €360 billion (RM1.67 trillion). As a result, net financial assets rose 6.7% to €409 billion (RM1.89 trillion). 

Malaysia ranked 39th among the countries covered by Allianz based on net financial assets per capita of €11,370. For comparison purposes, Singapore ranked fourth with its net financial assets per capita of €192,840.

Allianz’s 17th Global Wealth Report tracks how wealth is evolving and what is driving changes in household financial positions. The latest report found that global household wealth reached a record in 2025, while rising markets and the growth of AI are increasingly shaping how future wealth gains are generated and distributed. 

On a global scale, household financial assets climbed 8.6% to a record €268.4 trillion in 2025. Securities were the strongest-growing asset class, rising 12.4%, compared with growth of 5.7% in deposits and 5% in insurance and pension assets. Securities consequently accounted for a record 46.9% of global household financial assets.

Allianz Research said global financial assets could expand by about 9% in 2026, although the outlook beyond that could be constrained by slower economic growth, persistent inflation, geopolitical fragmentation and high public debt.

The report also flagged artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential driver of the next phase of wealth creation, while noting that elevated valuations and concentrated ownership could increase the risks associated with the technology-led gains.

It estimated that a 25% correction in the S&P 500 could wipe out about US$27 trillion (RM110.21 trillion) of US household wealth in the year of the shock, equivalent to almost 14% of total net worth, with knock-on effects on consumer confidence and consumption.

Allianz Research also highlighted the distribution of AI-driven wealth, noting that the technology could shift a larger share of value creation towards capital. 

“As AI potentially shifts more value creation towards capital, broader participation in capital returns and policies that help workers adjust will be key to making the AI wealth dividend more widely shared,” said Allianz Research head of thematic and policy research Katharina Utermöhl.