Hong Kong millionaires beat Americans in investing for parents and children, according to survey

Hong Kong millionaires are more aggressive than those in the United States when it comes to investing for parents and children, according to a survey released on Tuesday by US brokerage Charles Schwab.

The online survey, conducted in February, polled 2,000 Hong Kong and US investors who earned up to US$225,000 a year and had up to US$1 million to invest.

“There is a lot of financial pressure, to take care of parents while at the same time to buy a property for children,” said Michael Fong, the managing director of Charles Schwab Hong Kong.

Half of the respondents in Hong Kong were investing for their families, and 75 per cent said they wanted to set aside funds for their parents, compared with only 25 per cent in the US.

Hong Kong investors were also more likely to buy apartments for their children – 41 per cent said they planned to buy property for their children, as opposed to 20 per cent in the US and 33 per cent in mainland China. And when it came to leaving money for their children, 55 per cent of Hong Kong investors wanted to grow their funds to pass onto their children in the next 10 years, as opposed to 43 per cent in the US.