Asia's high net worth individuals are now more open to transitioning from self-management to seeking the help of professional advisors to manage their assets better, a research note released recently by Australian banking research firm East & Partners shows.

In a survey of 949 C-level executives across 10 Asian jurisdictions in May 2013, the study found that while 70 per cent of the respondents currently manage their investments on their own, there is a growing trend toward consulting with private banks. The study defines HNW individuals as those with a median investable wealth of $4.22 million.

Presently, around 10 per cent of the HNWIs polled use a private bank, but by this time next year 15 per cent of them said they will do so. The percentage of those using their business bank to manage their wealth is also set to decline from 16 per cent to 14 per cent.

With regard to asset class choices, the respondents said they would likely shift more toward international equities and alternative asset classes and continue to focus on property as a core asset class in the next year. At present, the allocation to international equities is 17.7 per cent, to climb to 20.9 per cent by 2014. Alternative assets are also predicted to generate more attention, from 8 per cent to 11.4 per cent.

"This shows that private banks are set to overtake business banks as a provider to Asian HNWIs, and also shows an increased willingness for individuals to move from self-management to a professional provider," said East & Partners.