The UAE has been ranked among the top three nations in which investors are satisfied with the quality of life, prompting them to be confident about their financial future, a study from HSBC has found.
About 83 per cent of more than 700 high-net-worth individuals surveyed in the Emirates said they were satisfied, placing the country below only Mexico and India, the London-based bank said in the report released at the UAE Wealth Investment Summit in Dubai on Thursday.
The study, conducted by French research firm Ipsos, covered nearly 10,000 HNWIs across 10 markets.
The UAE's satisfaction is markedly higher than the overall average of 75 per cent, as more than a quarter gave quality of life a perfect score, which was the joint-highest share of any market and well above the global average of 15 per cent, the report said. Nearly 90 per cent of those are also more confident about their financial future, it said.
The survey's participants are also more active when it comes to business plans, with more than a fifth claiming they are launching, acquiring or investing in a new venture, compared to the general average of 17 per cent, HSBC said.
“The UAE has built an environment where people and their wealth can thrive, and this research shows it,” said Sami Abouzahr, HSBC’s head of international wealth and premier banking for the Middle East and UAE.
“Investors here are confident, ambitious and internationally connected, and they are planning for the long term.”
The HSBC study also suggested half of UAE investors expect to receive a significant financial inheritance, compared to 43 per cent globally, while about 58 per cent expect to leave a significant financial legacy to their heirs or other causes.
Among those who expect to inherit and were able to estimate its value, the average expected inheritance is around Dh2 million ($545,000), about twice the global figure, with recipients typically expecting to receive it around the age of 52, HSBC said.
“A significant transfer of wealth between generations is under way in the UAE and families want to get it right,” said Craig Worobec, HSBC’s head of wealth and premier solutions for the Middle East and UAE.
“That means planning early, having open conversations about what wealth is for, and preparing the next generation with the skills and networks to use it well.”
Despite the geopolitical uncertainty and economic headwinds, wealth generation and the flow of new money to the UAE continues. The country is a magnet for the ultra-wealthy, as well as global wealth managers and trillion-dollar asset managers.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked among the top 10 destinations for next-generation wealth, despite the fallout from geopolitical tension and hostility, London-based consultancy Savills said in a report last week.
Also last week, a study from Boston Consulting Group showed that net wealth in the UAE is set to jump to $6 trillion by the end of this decade, despite the short-term volatility caused by conflict in the Middle East.
“With a highly international population and wealth that spans several countries, the UAE has become a base from which investors manage and grow their wealth around the world,” HSBC said.