Cryptocurrencies find favour with rich; HNWIs want better advice on virtual currencies

Rich people are increasingly showing interest in cryptocurrencies and want more information about the virtual currencies from their wealth managers, according to a report released today. While cryptocurrencies not yet a major part of High net worth individuals (HNWI) portfolios, there is growing interest in cryptocurrencies as an investment tool and store of value. 
 
Cryptocurrency investments gained global attention in 2017 and peaked in market capitalisation in early January 2018, according to the Capgemini World Wealth Report 2018 .  "HNWIs are cautiously interested in holding cryptocurrencies, with 29 percent globally having a high degree of interest, and 26.9 percent saying they are somewhat interested," the report said. 
 
Cryptocurrency’s potential for investment returns and as a store of value are driving HNWI interest, with 71.1 percent of HNWIs aged 40 and below placing high importance on receiving cryptocurrency information from their wealth management firms, compared to 13 percent of HNWIs aged 60 years and above, it said.
 
But wealth management firms have been ambivalent when it comes to providing cryptocurrency information to HNWI clients, with only 34.6 percent of HNWIs globally saying they have received cryptocurrency information from their wealth managers. However, equities remained the largest asset class in the first quarter of 2018 at 30.9 percent of High net worth individuals (HNWI) financial wealth, followed by cash and cash equivalents at 27.2 percent, and real estate at 16.8 percent. 
 
Global HNWI investment returns on the assets managed by wealth managers were up 27.4 percent in 2017. The World Wealth Report 2018 (WWR) by Capgemini found the improving global economy spurred HNWI wealth US$70 trillion threshold for the first time.