Affluent Indians Doubling Gold And Other Investments In Their Portfolio And Reducing Cash Levels: HSBC Report

Affluent investors in India are getting more inclined to include gold, mutual funds, and other alternatives in their portfolios. According to the Affluent Investor Snapshot 2025 A Quality of Life special report by HSBC released on July 9, 2025, affluent investors worldwide have reduced their cash holdings by around 40 per cent. They invest their cash in more productive asset classes. In India, cash allocation of affluent investors stands at 15 per cent, which they want to reduce even further. The survey was conducted in 12 countries (Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, and the US). It surveyed 10,797 affluent investors (aged 21 to 69) to understand their investment behaviour, portfolio composition, and investment behaviours.

It reveals that financial security is the top priority for affluent investors worldwide. Therefore, they are inclined to rejig their portfolios, considering inflation and the rising cost of living.      

Investment in gold and alternative investments (private equity, private credit, hedge funds) has more than doubled globally, and half of the investors plan to increase the allocation to these assets in the next 12 months, per the report. It highlights that 41 per cent want to own gold in physical form whereas 28 per cent plan to own digital gold.

Indian Affluent Investors

In India, 1006 respondents were asked about their financial concerns. Notably, 90 per cent of the respondents feel concerned about the rising cost of living, and 87 per cent about economic uncertainty. However, at the same time, they feel confident in achieving their financial goals. Their top three financial goals are buying property (41 per cent), financial support to family (41 per cent), and saving for leisure activities (40 per cent).

Asset-Allocation

The top five products investors want to add to their portfolio are digital gold, mutual funds, hedge funds, private market funds, and multi-asset solutions.

For India, the report highlights an increase of 7 percentage points in gold allocation, 4 per cent in other investments, 2 per cent in real estate, 1 per cent in cryptocurrencies, and no change in fixed income or bonds, in their portfolio in the past year. The young generation is more open to investing in multi-asset solutions and alternatives.

Source Of Information

In India, social media and podcasts are the most preferred sources for these investors to get financial information. Globally, the preferred sources of financial information include social platforms (40 per cent), bank digital channels (39 per cent), and non-bank channels (36 per cent), says the report.

Financial Decision-Making

While they prefer getting information from social media, they turn to financial experts for financial decision-making. At the global level, 64 per cent go to wealth or financial specialists or bank relationship managers before making a financial decision. In India, 39 per cent seek guidance from family members, friends, and colleagues, 36 per cent from stockbrokers, and 31 per cent from insurance agents.

Confident To Achieve Financial Goals:

According to the report, affluent investors are more confident and want to invest globally. Around 42 per cent of the affluent investors in international wealth centres want to invest internationally, mainly in the US and their own country.

The report reveals that the three preferred locations for international investments are Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US.

Across the generations, Gen Z (Age 21-28) is more confident in achieving their financial goals. Around 84 per cent of Gen Z and millennials (Age 29-44) feel confident to achieve short-term goals (0-3 months), 75 per cent feel confident for medium-term goals (3-5 years), and 76 per cent for long-term goals of more than five years.

Compared to this, 78 per cent of Baby Boomers (Age 61-69) and Gen X (Age 45-60) feel confident to achieve short-term goals, and 69 per cent and 73 per cent feel confident to achieve their medium-, and long-term goals, respectively.