High net worth individuals in Asia and the United Arab Emirates expect to add more wealth this year but levels of optimism vary considerably between nations, according to a new report by Scorpio Partnership that maps customer behaviour.

The FuturePriority report is designed to help wealth managers adjust their service offerings and client segmentation strategy to cater more effectively to the differing patterns of client tastes and goals, Scorpio said.

Although the Asian region has seen rapid expansion in the number and wealth of HNW individuals in recent years – in contrast to parts of the West – it is vital for wealth managers to fit their strategies to local conditions, Scorpio told WealthBriefing.

(To view the full report, click here).

Part of the report’s objective is to address the issue of how firms, once they understand clients' motivations, can deliver a service that is based on such insights, said Catherine Tillotson, managing partner at Scorpio.

“We are trying to solve that problem [with this report],” she said.

Among the findings of the inaugural report, called Just What Are Asia’s Wealth Priorities? is that HNW individuals in Indonesia, India, Malaysia and China – in that order – are the most confident about growing their wealth this year. HNW individuals in India, Indonesia and China had the shortest time horizons – less than eight years – for achieving their wealth goals, while people in Hong Kong and Taiwan took a longer term perspective in this respect – more than 10 years.

The survey covered 1,800 individuals in the following jurisdictions: Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The average wealth of these individuals was $1.3 million with a target of $3.5 million typically within a 10-year time frame.

One result of the survey was the creation of four customer “profiles” or “archetypes” by Scorpio: “benefit valuers”, "wealth builders”, “status enhancers” and “convenience seekers”.

These groups have the following characteristics:

Benefit valuers - sensible investors who are likely to be self-directed but heed advice if they seek it; they watch product charges and seek benefits that bring added value; they expect financial advisors to give access for them to transact and they are focused on financial success but fear they may not meet their own goals.

Wealth builders – capable investors who understand markets and value investment advice; they are not seeking quick solutions; they value being able to discuss ideas with experts; they are most likely to have made successful investment choices recently and are confident they can repeat this.

Status enhancers – “go-getters” who are not generally experts on financial affairs; they want advisors to help them get things done fast; they are comfortable with complex solutions and highly focused on tax efficiency; they want to make their mark as leaders or influences in the world.

Convenience seekers – they like financial decisions to be as simple as possible; they may seek advice but can be repelled by complexity; they value customer service, transparency and simplicity; they do not see customer perks as a substitute for real service.

In South Korea, for example, the country has the highest number of “status enhancers”. As a country, South Koreans had the highest average income but only 15 per cent of respondents to the survey had a specific money goal, contrasting with 65 per cent across all survey respondents. In India, status enhancers were also dominant. In Indonesia, by contrast, there were more “wealth builders” than for the Asian region as a whole. They are also very confident about creating wealth in 2011; 98 per cent said they expected their wealth to increase.

By contrast with India, China had the fewest status enhancers in the survey, with more of the other personality types in evidence, the survey found.

The FuturePriority research project is a sister project to the firm’s FutureWealth programme launched in 2009, and sponsored by Standard Chartered Private Bank.