Affluent Asian investors are neither afraid nor uninformed of crypto, according to data, with 52 percent of them holding some type of digital asset in Q1 2022.
According to Accenture data released on June 6, digital assets, which include cryptocurrencies, stable coins, and crypto funds, made up on average 7% of polled investors’ portfolios, making them Asia’s fifth-largest asset class.
It was more than they allocated to foreign currencies, commodities, and collectibles, and it was on level with or exceeding the amount invested in private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds in some situations.
The poll was conducted with over 3,200 clients in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, according to Accenture. An affluent investor, according to the firm, is someone who manages investable assets worth between $100,000 and $1 million.
When compared to their peers, Thai and Indonesian investors have the highest share of digital assets in their portfolios.
Despite the fact that half of Asian investors had digital assets in Q1 2022, Accenture’s research shows that another 21% are likely to do so by the end of the year, implying that as many as 73 percent of rich Asian investors might own one by the end of the year.
Wealth Managers Are Becoming Cautious
Wealth management organisations, which provide financial planning, tax, investment, and estate planning to their clients, have been sluggish to jump on board the crypto train, according to the firm. According to the survey, 67% of wealth management businesses have no intentions to offer digital asset products or services.
Wealth management organisations identified a lack of conviction in and knowledge of digital assets, a wait-and-see attitude, and the operational difficulty of starting a digital asset offering as the key reasons for delaying, instead prioritising other efforts.
According to Accenture, the lack of engagement by businesses has prompted investors to seek financial advice about cryptocurrency from untrustworthy sources.
Accenture, on the other hand, has emphasised the significance for wealth management organisations to advance into the digital asset market, or risk being left behind.
In the previous year, Asian investors have been more interested in cryptocurrency.
According to a forecast released in April by the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, bitcoin use will soar in 2021, especially in nations like India and Hong Kong. In 2021, over 45 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific acquired their first cryptocurrency.
Source: Cointelegraph