Affluent investors have reshaped their portfolios over the past 12 months by doubling allocations to alternative investments and gold while reducing cash levels by nearly 40%, according to a recent report.

As well, there is a growing appetite for diversification across asset classes and geographies, finds HSBC’s 2025 Affluent Investor Snapshot, based on data gathered from 10,797 individual investors in 12 markets.

Younger investors are leading this shift, the report notes, having tripled their allocations to alternative assets over the past 12 months. Overall, five in 10 affluent investors globally expect to have alternative investments in their portfolios within the next year – twice the current level of ownership – with three in 10 saying they will have private markets exposure.  

As interest rates fell, affluent investors, the report notes, reduced their cash levels by nearly 40% on average. Once more, younger generations are leading the move out of cash, with Gen Z and millennials reducing their average holdings from 31% to 17%.  

At 15%, affluent investors in India now have the smallest average allocation to cash in Asia. In contrast, those in mainland China and Taiwan market allocate 25% of their portfolios to cash and are more likely to maintain or increase these levels over the next 12 months, although overall views on cash are split. Half of affluent investors plan to keep their allocations unchanged, while two in 10 expect to reduce and 3 in 10 expect to increase.

Meanwhile, gold allocations more than doubled - from 5% to 11% - marking the largest average increase across asset classes. Affluent investors in Indonesia, mainland China and Malaysia registered the largest increases in Asia. Half of affluent investors globally plan to invest in gold in the next year, with almost three in 10 interested in accessing the metal in a tokenized format.

International investing on the rise

While the US ranks as the top market for boosting international exposure, affluent investors in key international wealth hubs – Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, UK and US – also show a strong preference for increasing investments in their home regions when diversifying globally.

Overall, four in 10 affluent investors say they plan to invest internationally within the next 12 months, with the highest appetite seen in the UAE ( 56% ) and Singapore ( 50% ). Affluent investors, the report points out, also singled out the US, Singapore and Hong Kong as their preferred markets to hold an overseas investment account. 

Financial confidence, lifestyle goals

Despite widely-shared concerns about global uncertainty and rising living costs, eight in 10 affluent investors – especially Gen Z and millennials – remain confident in achieving their long-term financial goals. 

Saving for vacations and leisure has overtaken financial security, the report shares, as the top financial goal for many investors, although long-term wealth building remains a shared priority. This trend continues across most of Asia, except for mainland China and Taiwan, where investors continue to prioritize financial security. 

Furthermore, affluent investors across all generations, the report highlights, remain focused on preparing for retirement as their top long-term financial goal.

“Across Asia, affluent individuals are taking a more strategic approach to build their portfolios,” says Kai Zhang, the bank’s head of international wealth and premier banking for Asia. “While maintaining savings is important, their ambitions increasingly require their money to work harder and over a longer time horizon. That’s why we see affluent investors actively diversifying across asset classes - including alternatives – and looking beyond their home markets to build and preserve their wealth.”