Quality of life, family needs and business interests are the most crucial causes for concern among millionaires who left their birth country in search of success, findings from a new report show.

The report, Wealth Through the Prism of Culture and Mobility, investigated the investment, wealth transfer and charitable-giving behaviours of individuals who live, work, or spend over half their time outside their country of birth and have investable assets of at least $1 million. It was conducted by RBC Wealth Management and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The EIU surveyed 558 high net worth individuals including 300 internationally-mobile wealthy individuals (IMWIs). The latter group formed the basis for most of the report and the 258 non-mobile respondents served as benchmarks for comparison.

Of those who left their country of birth in search of success, an overwhelming 88 per cent rated quality of life as their top considerations, while 79 per cent cited family needs and 67 per cent said business interests.

"As globalised economies converge, high net worth individuals have increasingly international footprints, with personal and professional interests in multiple geographies," said George Lewis, group head at RBC Wealth Management & Insurance. "Our experience working with high net worth clients around the world shows that their success is often strongly influenced by a global perspective about building, protecting and ultimately transferring wealth to future generations."

According to the survey, 60 per cent of IMWIs generate the majority of their income from "the country they now call home," the report said. Almost half (48 per cent) invest the majority of their income back into their country of residence, while nearly a third (32 per cent) invest primarily in their country of origin.

In terms of investment, IMWIs take a similarly global approach; global equities are favoured by over a third (36 per cent) versus a quarter of those who remain in their home country. Meanwhile, real estate tops the list of preferred asset classes, with over half (53 per cent) having it as a high or very high proportion of their portfolio. Specifically, a propensity to invest very heavily in real estate is apparent among those living in the Asia-Pacific region, with almost a third (31 per cent) doing so compared to just 7 per cent of their counterparts in North America and 10 per cent of those in Western Europe.

So-called "mobile millionaires" are also more likely to have significant investments in precious metals compared to their home-based wealthy peers (21 per cent versus 13 per cent), the survey found.

Wealth transfer

The most common approach to wealth transfer is to leave enough to their family so they are comfortable but still have to work for a living (33 per cent), the survey showed. But "unique differences exist based on where respondents were born."

For example, 41 per cent from Asia-Pacific are more likely to leave all assets to their families, compared to just over a quarter (27 per cent) from other regions. North American mobile millionaires, meanwhile, are the most likely to leave assets to charity (29 per cent compared to 11 per cent of from other markets).

"Despite these varied plans, over a third of respondents do not have a will (37 per cent) and admit to not fully understanding the tax regimes their assets are subject to (34 per cent), factors which may impact what their families and charitable causes will inherit," the report added.

Indeed, an individual's country of birth influences their charitable giving as part of an estate plan. However, country of residence affects current levels of donations among mobile millionaires - this is "probably due to levels of government social spending and charitable tax benefits."

The firms noted how mobile millionaires are "generally self-made", having earned their wealth as professionals. Overall, less than a third (30 per cent) grew up with HNW parents.

According to the survey, younger millionaires (aged 40 and under) generated wealth through "more diverse means". Only 17 per cent of respondents earned wealth as professionals, compared to 26 per cent of those in the 41-50 group and 41 per cent of those older than 50.