A UBS Group survey of its clients shows that despite the looming threat of a global trade war, many wealthy family offices around the world still plan to increase their investments in China.
According to Bloomberg, the report is based on survey results from 317 family offices, which on average manage $1.1 billion (4.698 billion MYR) in assets. The report shows that over one-third of Middle Eastern family offices plan to increase their investments in China, with 39% of family offices in the Asia-Pacific region also planning to do so; globally, the average proportion of family offices with such plans is 18%.
However, there is a notable exception. The report shows that 13% of the U.S. family offices surveyed said they would not increase their investments in China over the next year.
These results were mainly collected before U.S. President Trump announced global tariffs, indicating that as the world's largest economy decouples, super-rich individuals outside the U.S. are opting to hedge their bets rather than take sides.
The report states that a global trade war is the most concerning risk for billionaire families over the next year, followed by major geopolitical conflicts and inflation.