Merrill Lynch launch annual world wealth report with Cap Gemini

Number of HNWI’s in the UK up 2% to 495,000 individuals driven by strong GDP growth

The twelfth annual Merrill Lynch Wealth report revealed that green investing has become increasingly popular with total investments in green technology up 41% to US$117bn. Nick Tucker, Market Leader for UK & Ireland, Global Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch commented: “Green investing offers investors lucrative returns and an opportunity to become actively involved in social responsibility. An array of vehicles such as mutual funds, ETFs and other pooled products, or alternative investments are available with notable strength in wind and solar. The Middle East and Europe were the most environmentally attuned HNWI and Ultra-HNWI populations, with participation ranging from around 17 percent to 21 percent in 2007. In comparison, only 5 percent of HNWIs and 7 percent of Ultra-HNWIs in North America allocated part of their portfolio holdings to green investing. Among HNWIs worldwide, approximately half pointed to financial returns as the primary reason for their allocation to green investing.”

Emerging markets made significant contributions to record-level worldwide IPO activity in 2007. More than 1,300 IPOs raised about US$300 billion during the year—and emerging markets captured 7 of the top 10 issues. The BRIC nations exhibited particular strength in the area, accounting for 39 percent of global IPO volume in 2007, up from 32 percent in 2006. Net private capital flows to emerging markets also increased in 2007. China attracted the largest absolute amount of private capital in 2007 at a country level, drawing in about US$55 billion. Emerging Europe was the most popular regional destination, attracting US$276 billion.

Given 2007 performances and taking into consideration recent developments in world markets, the Report suggests that global HNWI wealth will grow to US$59.1 trillion by 2012, advancing at a rate of 7.7 percent per year.

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