One of our objectives for this blog is to make it an aggregator for information about new books, reports, research and doctoral dissertations that come out on the topics of private banking strategy, organization and competitive environment. To date there is no such “private banking library” where the total body of knowledge in our industry can easily be accessed.

We will regularly write blogposts about new publications and will create a static “library page” where you can explore. Let us start the private banking library with two new publications that have appeared recently:

Merrill Lynch/Capgemini Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2007 (html) (pdf)

Asia-Pacific’s High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) population has further grown to 2.6 million people last year (+8.6%) according to Merrill Lynch and Capgemini’s second annual Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2007. This accounts for 27.1% of the global HNWI population. The report builds on Merrill Lynch/Capgemini’s World Wealth Reports (html)(pdf).

Beyond the numbers and charts the Asia-Pacific Wealth Report seeks to help us better understand the behavior of HNWIs in the main markets in Asia-Pacific. Key numbers are:

• Today, 2.6 million Asia-Pacific HNWIs hold more than US$1 million in financial assets — an increase of 8.6% over
  2005 and slightly more than the global average increase of 8.3% in 2006
• Asia-Pacific HNWI wealth totals US$8.4 trillion, an increase of 10.5% over 2005; China and Japan together account
  for just over 64% of regional HNWI wealth
• Asia-Pacific holds 27.1% of the global HNWI population and 22.6% of global HNWI wealth
• Wealth creation in the region was driven by strong real GDP growth and continued market capitalization growth
• Singapore, India and Indonesia were some of the fastest-growing HNWI populations in the world, with 2006 gains of
  21.2%, 20.5% and 16.0%, respectively
• We forecast that HNWI financial wealth in the region will reach US$12.7 trillion by 2011, growing at an annual rate
  of 8.5%, well above the global rate of 6.8%

Barclays Wealth Insights Volume 3: Risk, Return and Reward (html) (pdf)

Barclays has launched a quarterly publication called “Barclays Wealth Insights” in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The third and most recent volume treats of how wealthy individuals look at risk, returns and rewards.

The publication is composed of a nice balance between research, industry expert insights and case vignettes (small case studies). Key findings are:

• Appetite for risk is an important actor in wealth creation.
• The reason investors behave s they do is becoming more widely understood.
• Wealthy individuals have a rowing appetite for less traditional asset classes but may lack knowledge to understand them.
• Leaving wealth to dependents is seen as important…
• …but many worry about the effect that sudden wealth might have.

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