Switzerland continues to rank among the world’s leading wealth management centres. This is according to the inaugural Wealth Management Index published by Avaloq on Tuesday, which compares 15 international markets using more than 60 indicators across five categories.

Overall, Switzerland ranks fifth, behind Singapore, the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong. Singapore scores 86 points, while Switzerland reaches 66. The UK and Luxembourg follow at some distance.

Leading Wealth Management Markets Compared

Source: Avaloq Wealth Management Index. Scores were normalised on a scale from 0 to 100 and ranked in descending order.

Strong Fundamentals

Switzerland’s strengths as a wealth management hub are particularly evident in three of the five categories assessed. In terms of macroeconomic conditions, it ranks among the global leaders, supported by high purchasing power, stable economic conditions and strong net inflows of foreign direct investment. It also performs well in financial market maturity, benefiting from high financial inclusion and broad access to financial services.

Switzerland scores especially highly in the regulatory environment. Together with Singapore, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, the UAE and the United Kingdom, it is among the markets offering the clearest and most stable regulatory frameworks for the wealth management industry.

Singapore receives the highest overall score in the index. The comparison with the city-state highlights where Switzerland still faces challenges despite its strong foundations. While both markets achieve top scores for regulation and macroeconomic conditions, their results differ significantly in the forward-looking categories.

This is particularly true in the category «Technology and Adoption of Digital Services.» This category measures the extent to which a market’s digital ecosystem supports the efficient delivery of modern wealth management services. The gap is especially pronounced in areas such as cybersecurity and the everyday use of digital tools by the population. While Switzerland performs well in digital skills and technological maturity, it offers less favourable conditions for the digital scaling of wealth management services.

As a result, Switzerland ranks only 12th out of 15 markets in this category. Only Italy, Thailand and Vietnam score lower. Somewhat surprisingly, the United Arab Emirates tops the ranking with the maximum score of 100, comfortably ahead of the United States, Singapore and the Netherlands.

«Technology and Adoption of Digital Services»

Demographics Also Matter

Significant differences also emerge in demographic factors. Singapore, the United States and the UAE are among the leading markets in this category. The index considers not only traditional demographic indicators such as age and urbanisation, but also factors including investable wealth, household spending and financial planning behaviour, interest in financial topics and digital engagement with financial content. Switzerland ranks in the middle of the pack in this category.

Technology as a Future Growth Driver

Overall, the Avaloq Wealth Management Index paints a mixed picture for Switzerland. On the one hand, the Swiss financial centre continues to benefit from strong structural advantages. Its combination of regulatory stability, financial market maturity and macroeconomic resilience enables it to remain one of the world's most attractive wealth management hubs.

On the other hand, the index underlines that the long-term attractiveness of a wealth management market will increasingly depend on factors such as digitalisation and demographic development.

Christian Haux, Managing Director Switzerland and Liechtenstein at Avaloq, commented: «The index confirms the exceptional strength of the Swiss financial centre. Regulatory certainty, a mature financial market and macroeconomic stability remain key competitive advantages for wealth managers in Switzerland. At the same time, the comparison with other leading markets highlights the growing importance of digital capabilities, new forms of client engagement and access to the next generation of wealth.»