The extremely rich have had a particularly good year in 2017, a new survey shows. And UBS has profited from a trend that may come as a bit of a surprise.
The rich have gotten richer – a booming economy and strong growth on the stock markets has further filled the vaults of the already seriously rich. Billionaires have increased their income by 24 percent to $9,200 billion last year, Wealth X advisory said in its latest annual survey.
The Female Rise
And the number of the richest has grown 15 percent to a record 2,754. What may come as a surprise is that number of female super rich increased 18 percent, outpacing that of their male counterparts (14.5 percent, see table below).
The consultancy said that the big increase was partially due to inheritance, partially to rising number of female entrepreneurs who made a fortune.
The authors of the study concluded that this was a sign for a fairly high degree of risk-taking by female business people, belying popular belief. And risk seems to have paid off handsomely.
Well Worth a Consideration
The private banks and wealth managers of this world hence are well advised to cater for the specific needs of female billionaires. UBS, Switzerland’s largest lender, is one to have upped its offering for this segment of the market early on.
The bank in 2017 launched a five-year plan under the guidance of Chairman Axel Weber, fully focused on female investors.
The bank also had the good sense to first introduce its specific offering in Asia, which confirmed its sense of timing: The Wealth X report shows that the number of billionaires increased the most in Asia last year, adding 29 percent. And the number of rich, Asian women contributed particularly strongly to that increase.
Women, Asia, Philanthropy,
UBS has made giant strides in becoming associated with sustainable investing and philanthropic deeds, products that it is selling on an industrial scale – another sensible strategic move it seems.
The super rich, after all, list philanthropy as their second-most important passion after their business interests. Before sports, that is (see table below). And women are said to have a strong penchant for good deeds.
Women, Asia, philanthropy: UBS has moved well to position itself for growth in a world of quickly growing numbers of very wealthy people.
Interestingly, UBS no longer is a partner of Wealth X billionaire’s report, after many years of association. A UBS spokesperson confirmed that it has teamed up with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) in its bid to map the world of the rich.
