Global high net worth (HNW) investors have doubled allocations to alternative investments and gold and other precious metals over the past 12 months, while reducing cash levels by almost 40 per cent, HSBC has revealed.

The bank’s 2025 Affluent Investor Snapshot highlighted a growing appetite for diversification across asset classes and geographies.

Younger investors were leading the portfolio shift, having tripled their exposure to alternative assets over the past year.

Across all age cohorts, half of global HNW investors expected to have alternative assets in their portfolios within the next year, twice the current level, while three in 10 said they would have private markets exposure.

The study also revealed that HNW investors had reduced their cash levels by nearly 40 per cent on average in response to falling interest rates.

Those in the UK and Mexico recorded the most drastic year-on-year reductions in cash levels, with investors in both markets at least halving their holdings on average.

Younger generations were leading the move out of cash, with Gen Z and Millennials reducing their holdings from 31 per cent to 17 per cent.

Looking ahead, half of HNW investors planned to keep their cash allocations unchanged, while 20 per cent planned to reduce and 30 per cent expected to increase.

Meanwhile, allocations to gold and other precious metals rose from 5 per cent to 11 per cent, the largest increase across asset classes.

Half of global HNW investors planned to invest in gold in the next 12 months, and 30 per cent were interested in accessing the asset class in a tokenised format.

While concerns about global uncertainty and rising living costs were widely shared, 80 per cent of HNW investors, particularly those in Gen Z and Millennials, remained confident about achieving their long-term financial goals.

Long-term wealth building remained a shared priority among affluent investors, while preparing for retirement was their top long-term financial goal.

“What we’re seeing is a clear evolution in how affluent investors approach their wealth,” commented HSBC head of wealth and premier solutions, Lavanya Chari.

"They’re not just diversifying more - they’re doing it with greater conviction and in a more structured way by reallocating from cash into a wider spectrum of asset classes and exploring opportunities beyond their home markets; and in many cases, it's the younger generations who are setting the pace.”

---