In the early 19th century, a confluence of outward and inward forces pushed China’s Qing Dynasty into a downward trajectory that ultimately tipped the country from its perch as the world’s largest economy. That event sparked a mass migration that has shaped history since. A Chinese diaspora—the migration and dispersion of Chinese from their homeland—has permeated the globe; sizable Chinese communities can be found from Vancouver to London to Singapore. Their influence has built foundational infrastructure and founded global companies, with some of Asia’s wealthiest families emerging from the same migration trend. That heritage and storyline is still unfolding today. To better understand the complicated and interrelated implications, The Economist Intelligence Unit has examined the factors influencing wealth planning decisions and related family-office and family governance structures taking shape today, particularly among the Chinese diaspora in Asia.   The report was written by Georgia McCafferty and edited by Jason Wincuinas. We would like to thank all interviewees consulted for this study for their time and insight (listed alphabetically by surname):   Cheong Wing Kiat, managing director, Business Concept; director of Amber Collections, Glucoscare International; managing director, MarinEx Pharmaceuticals Singapore, and business family strategist  Roger King, founding director and senior advisor, Tanoto Center for Asian Family Business and Entrepreneurship Studies, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Winnie Peng, director, Tanoto Center for Asian Family Business and Entrepreneurship Studies, HKUST Patricia Susanto, CEO, The Jakarta Consulting Group Wang Gungwu AO CBE, emeritus professor, Australian National University; and professor, National University of Singapore Supplemental to this report, a range of academics and practitioners were invited to share their points of view in order to provide a deeper understanding of governance structures and offer a variety of perspectives on the topic. Bundled with this Economist Intelligence Unit report are three additional essays and a Q&A interview.   Each contributor was selected for their unique experiences and years of industry involvement. We are also grateful for their time and insights. Listed alphabetically by surname:   Stacy Choong, partner, private client and tax, Withers KhattarWong, Singapore Joseph P H Fan, professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School; founder, Family Glory Institute Hao Gao, director, Global Family Business Research Center; deputy director, Research Center for Green Finance Development, Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance Patricia Susanto, CEO, The Jakarta Consulting Group Lei Xu, research fellow, Global Family Business Research Center, Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance

该报告的分析基于文献综述以及对相关研究领域从业人员和专业学者进行的直接采访。19 世纪初期，清朝政府面临内忧外患，中国经济拖入下行轨道，最终丧失了世界最大经济体的地位。大规模移民浪潮由此产生，并且塑造了此后历史的发展。   华裔群体（从故乡迁出并散落在海外的华人）已遍布全球；从温哥华，到伦敦，再到新加坡，各地都有大规模的华人社区。在他们的影响下，基础设施得以建设，跨国公司纷纷创立，一些亚洲最富有的家族也出现了同样的移民趋势。如今，这种传统得以保留，这种剧情仍在上演。为了更好地理解这种复杂且相互关联的影响，经济学人智库研究了影响财富规划决策及相关家族办公室和家族治理结构形成的因素，特别是在亚洲的华裔群体中。   报告由 Georgia McCafferty 撰写，由 Jason Wincuinas 编辑。我们要感谢所有受访者抽出宝贵时间为此项研究提供见解（按姓氏字母顺序列出）：   张荣杰，商念 (Business Concept) 董事总经理；糖护国际 (Glucoscare International) Amber Collections 董事；MarinEx Pharmaceuticals Singapore 董事总经理，企业家族策略师 金乐琦，香港科技大学 (HKUST) 陈江和亚洲家族企业与创业研究中心创始主任兼高级顾问 彭倩，香港科技大学陈江和亚洲家族企业与创业研究中心主任 Patricia Susanto，雅加达咨询集团 (The Jakarta Consulting Group) 首席执行官 王赓武，澳大利亚国立大学名誉教授；新加坡国立大学教授

 

In some instances the impact of this shift will be shaped by local factors, such as demographic changes. In other instances this shift will reflect shared characteristics, as demonstrated by the greater popularity of overseas investing among younger high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) brought up in an era of globalisation. Whatever the drivers, the landscape of wealth is changing—from local to global, and from one focused on returns to one founded on personal values.

Despite rising economic concerns and a tradition of investor home bias in large parts of the world, the new landscape of wealth appears less interested in borders. According to a survey commissioned by RBC Wealth Management and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), younger HNWIs are substantially more enthusiastic about foreign investing. The U.S. is a particularly high-profile example of a country where a long-standing preference for investments in local markets appears set to be transformed.

Click the thumbnail below to download the global executive summary. 

Read additional articles from The EIU with detail on the shifting landscape of global wealth in Asia, Canada, the U.S. and UK on RBC's website.