'WORLD WEALTH REPORT 2010'

This is a heavily abridged version of the ‘World Wealth Report 2010’ released in June jointly by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, with additional inputs from R Vaidyanath, head, FS Domain Solutions Group, Capgemini India.  Interested readers can find the full contents of this 14th iteration of the World Wealth Report, which runs into 37 pages and contains 16 exhibits, at www.capgemini.com/worldwealthreport.

The world’s population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) grew 17.1 percent to 10.0 million in 2009, returning to levels last seen in 2007, despite the contraction in world domestic product (GDP). Global HNWI wealth similarly recovered, rising 18.9 percent to US$39.0 trillion, with HNWI wealth in Asia Pacific and Latin America actually surpassing levels last seen at the end of 2007.

For the first time ever, the size of the HNWI population in Asia-Pacific was as large as that of Europe (at 3.0 million). This shift in the rankings occurred because HNWI gains in Europe, while sizeable, were far less than those in Asia-Pacific, where the region’s economies saw continued robust growth through both economic and market drivers of wealth. This is because ‘HNWI-wealth creation is always driven by a mixture of economics and market factors. So performance of the economy and the markets will always be a key factor in this growth,’ opines R Vaidyanath, head, FS Domain Solutions Group, Capgemini India.

The wealth of Asia-Pacific HNWIs stood at US$9.7 trillion by the end of 2009, up 30.9 percent, and above the US$9.5 trillion in wealth held by Europe’s HNWIs. Among Asia-Pacific markets, Hong Kong and India led the pack, rebounding from mammoth declines in their HNWI bases and wealth in 2008 amid an outsized resurgence in their stock markets.

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