More Than Half of Wealthy Asian Investors Held Crypto in Q1 2022: Accenture

Multi-national IT services giant Accenture published a new survey analyzing wealthy Asian investors’ portfolios on digital assets, noting that a majority of them are interested in directly or indirectly holding cryptocurrencies. The survey was conducted on the basis of 3,200 participants – from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, and more – who have investable assets ranging from at least $100,000 to over $5 million.

Wealthy Asians Interested in Crypto

In a research titled “Digital assets: Unclaimed territory in Asia,” Accenture found that 52% of affluent investors in Asia held digital assets as of Q1 2022, and the percentage could predictably rise to 73% by the end of the year. Their holdings include cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, and crypto funds.

Particularly, 72% of well-off Singaporean investors have put money into digital assets, with another 14% being interested in such an investment in the near future. Along with Thailand and India, Singapore has over 80% of its investors demonstrating a strong interest in digital assets.

With the recent growth of cryptocurrencies, investors have divided a portion of their portfolios into the rising asset class. On average, the well-to-do investors would allocate roughly 7% of their portfolio to crypto, making it the fifth-largest asset class held by them in the region. It ranks only behind equities, fixed income, cash, and real estate, according to Accenture’s research.

The report also indicated that – solely to wealth managers in Asia – helping clients transact digital assets represents an opportunity of $40 billion in revenue.

Yet, after interviewing 550 wealth managers from the financial industry, the company said two-thirds do not have plans to offer crypto-related propositions to their clients. It concluded that the lack of professional financial advisory for investors has led to them seeking advice through “unregulated forums” such as social media.

Asian Wealth Managers Are Holding Back

The report cited that a lack of belief in digital assets, a wait-and-see mindset, and the complex operational process required for launching relevant services due to regulatory concerns, are the three major factors that prevent wealth managers from diving deep into the field.

It’s worth noting that over 75% of the clients considered “advisory on digital asset investments” and the support of trading digital assets as something they would like to access through wealth managers in the future.

Earlier, a survey showed that 72% out of 500 financial advisors will be more likely to invest client funds in digital assets if the US watchdog greenlights a spot ETF. As crypto adoption increases, investors tend to look for an easier and safer way of exposure to such an asset.