Despite its reputation as the weakest economy in the world today, Europe is the preferred overseas investment destination for millionaires from all over the world. Respondents to a survey by the Spectrem Group voted strongly in favor of Europe as their preferred investment region in the world.
19% of all respondents preferred Europe while China came next with support from 15% of the respondents. Canada and the UK were ranked next with 12% and 9% while the fifth position was jointly occupied by Brazil, Australia, Japan, and India with support from 8% of the respondents.
Comparison with the 2011 survey shows a marked shift in the preference of investors. In 2011, China was the top investment destination with 21% support followed by Brazil with 20% support. Europe was ranked third and was preferred by just 12% of the respondents.
The 2014 survey sought the opinions of 1465 individuals who had investible assets between $1 million to $5 million.
So, what makes a region suffering from strong deflationary trends, volatile stock markets, and ever-present fears of another recession enjoying the support of so many millionaires? The President of the Spectrem Group opines that Europe’s political stability and the hands-off approach of its governments towards the economy makes it a much safer bet as compared to investment destinations like China and Brazil.
Emerging markets invariably suffer from excessive government and regulatory intervention in economic matters, a risk virtually absent in Europe. The view is that despite not being an attractive option, Europe is probably the least unattractive option amongst overseas investment destinations in the world today.
Source: www.cnbc.com