It was perhaps inevitable that after experiencing such rapid wealth growth in the past few years, Asia's high-net-worth individuals suffered particularly keenly from the recent crisis. But there is still huge market potential in the region for advisory firms able to tap it.
The wealth of the region's high-net-worth individuals HNWIs -- those with $1 million or more in investable assets -- fell by 22.3% to $7.4 trillion last year, below the level in 2006. That compares to a fall of 19.5% for global HNWI wealth, according to the 2009 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report, released yesterday by consulting firm Capgemini and Merrill Lynch.
Hong Kong HNWIs...