The number of high net worth (HNW) investors in Australia has grown by more than 10 per cent, placing the country among the world's top 10 in terms of millionaires, a report has found.
According to the Merrill Lynch/Capgemini 11th annual World Wealth Report, HNW investors in Australia grew by 10.9 per cent.
The report revealed the number of people with financial assets of at least US$1 million grew by 10.3 per cent or about 15,000 individuals, from 146,000 at the end of 2005 and 160,600 at the end of 2006.
"For the first time, Australia has joined the ranks of the world's top 10 countries in terms of total HNWI numbers," Merrill Lynch head of global private clients Australia and New Zealand Nick Kalikajaros said.
"The steady growth in the size and scale of the Australian market represents tremendous opportunities for wealth management firms, especially those that can adapt their service model to the needs of an increasingly sophisticated client segment."
On the global front, the wealth of the world's HNW investors increased 11.4 per cent to US$37.2 trillion in 2006.
The number of HNW investors in the world increased 8.3 per cent in 2006 to 9.5 million ad the number of ultra high net worth individuals grew by 11.3 per cent to 94,970.
The largest growth of the HNW investor population occurred in Singapore and India, where the increases during 2005 was 21.2 and 20.5 per cent respectively.
In terms of future forecasts, the report suggested economic growth would slow in 2007 with markets such as the United States to spearhead the trend.
It said as many central banks tighten monetary policy the period of high liquidity that has fuelled recent growth would end. As a result, growth rates in Asia and Latin America are expected to ease back.
