A sizeable majority of clients intend to add a new wealth management provider, move money to another business, or switch completely in the next three years. Across Asia as a whole, slightly fewer intend to do this, but they are still in a majority.

Almost two-thirds of wealth management clients in Singapore want to move money to another provider, according to a study of attitudes by EY, the professional services firm.

Some 64 per cent plan to add a new provider, move money to  another provider, or switch altogether in the next three years (versus 45 per cent global average and 57 per cent in Asia-Pacific). The figures came from the EY Global Wealth Survey, which gleaned views of more than 2,600 wealth management clients globally. 

The majority of respondents in Singapore (80 per cent) said that they would change their investment behaviour due to a decline in portfolio value, well-above the 73 per cent global average.

The significance of the findings is that it shows that wealth managers, private banks and other organisations must compete to retain and acquire clients who are more demanding than ever before. As a rising cohort of Millennial and Generation Z individuals come into wealth, this pressure is unlikely to abate.

Young investors in Singapore are more likely to switch into active investments during volatility, with 47 per cent of Millennials increasing allocations, compared with 40 per cent of Boomers (the generational divide is wider in Asia-Pacific, where 55 per cent of Millennials and 33 per cent of Boomers reported an increase in active investment allocations).

The proportion of clients in Singapore working with fintechs to manage their wealth is expected to rise over the next three years to 23 per cent from 17 per cent, while the proportion of those using a digital asset provider or crypto wallet is expected to fall to 16 per cent from 20 per cent.

More than half of respondents in Singapore (52 per cent) said they’re satisfied with the performance of alternative investments, with 59 per cent saying the same for actively managed funds.

Investors are facing an uncertain landscape with the ongoing market volatility, which means that they have a lot of questions and an increased appetite for advice, EY noted.

The firm said that 34 per cent of wealth management clients surveyed in Singapore think that managing their wealth has become more complex in the last two years (versus 36 per cent average for Asia-Pacific and 32 per cent in Hong Kong).

It also shows that investors in Singapore are particularly hungry for advice to interpret economic, market and political shocks, with 68 per cent of respondents indicating that they are looking for more guidance across investment services, the second highest level in Asia-Pacific behind only South Korea (70 per cent).