By Better Dwelling
By Better Dwelling
Global wealth migration is accelerating, but traditional winners of the migration are losing. Analysts at New World Wealth (NWW), a firm that tracks the trends of high net-worth individuals, observed an increase of movement of wealthy families. Despite the increase, top desinations for wealthy immigrants are seeing a decline. This decline of wealthy immigrants was especially pronounced in Canada.
Canada Saw 5,000 Wealthy Families Immigrate In 2017
Canada’s high net-worth individual (HNWI) population is expanding, but growth is slowing. NWW analysts estimate there were 372,700 HNWI in Canada. That number benefitted from 5,000 new wealthy immigrants to Canada. Despite the large sounding number, it’s a 37.5% decline compared to the number that moved to Canada in 2016. Dropping back to 2015 levels isn’t the end of the world, but it highlights the boom in 2016.
Global Wealth Migration Is Accelerating
High net-worth families are migrating at an increasing pace. In 2017, NWW analysts observed 95,000 HNWIs leave their home countries. This is up from 82,000 families in 2016, and 64,000 in 2015. The trend is accelerating, but the top immigration hubs for the rich, are losing ground.
The three largest outflows were observed in China, India, and Turkey. China lost 10,000 HNWI in 2017, making it the biggest loser on the list. India saw the second highest outflow, losing 7,000 HWNIs in 2017. Turkey saw 6,000 HNWI leave in 2017, making it the third largest loser of wealthy families. All three of these countries have been seeing large amounts of capital flight since 2014.
The top three inflows of wealthy immigrants were the same as last year – Australia, the US, and Canada. Australia saw 10,000 wealthy families immigrate, making it the top single destination. In second was the US, with 9,000 new wealthy families. In third was Canada, with 5,000 wealthy new immigrants. Looking at the chart below, we can see that these are substantial declines compared to the previous year, especially in Canada.
The slowing of imported wealth is a huge issue for countries that depend on it to bolster their economy. A decline of wealthy buyers in Canada could have been a significant contribution to the slowing real estate market last year. Planning for a number of wealthy immigrants that never show up, can lead to a mismatch of expectations. Although let’s be honest, dropping back to 2015 levels of wealthy immigrants doesn’t exactly put Canada in a bad place. It’s just not where people were expecting that trend to go.