1 Shocking Chart Proves America Is Losing Power to Asia
The United States' greatest fear may soon be upon it. According to a recent report by The Boston Consulting Group, Asia will become the world's wealthiest region in less than five years.
The authors of the report, which surveys global private financial wealth, predict that the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) will have stockpiled a total of $48.1 trillion in private wealth by 2017. By comparison, North America's accumulated grubstake is expected to grow to only $48.0 trillion.
As you can see in the chart above, this is a considerable change from the present. In 2012, the most recent year included in the survey, North America had an estimated $43.3 trillion compared to Asia's $28 trillion.
According to the authors (emphasis added):
The growth of private wealth varied considerably by region in 2012, as in previous years, once again highlighting the differences in how the year's economic forces affected the traditional, mature economies of the "old world" and the rapidly developing economies of the "new world."
Wealth increased measurably in the old-world regions of North America, Western Europe, and Japan, while double-digit growth characterized the new-world regions of Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
The significance of this passing of the torch will be felt particularly hard among financial companies including Bank of America , Morgan Stanley , and JPMorgan Chase , the nation's three largest wealth managers.
For obvious reasons, it will be critical that these three companies make inroads in emerging markets, and Asia in particular. As the report highlights, "Winning globally in wealth management will not be possible without a leading presence in Asia-Pacific and other emerging markets."
How will they do this? That remains to be seen, though JPMorgan has recently found itself embroiled in controversy over allegedly trying to curry business through the hiring of relatives of high-ranking government employees in China.
Most important for you, the investor, is simply watching how these trends develop and trying to ascertain which of these top wealth managers are navigating this changing world the best.
One Asian market set to explode
U.S. automakers boomed after WWII, but the coming boom in the Chinese auto market will put that surge to shame! As Chinese consumers grow richer, savvy investors can take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the help from this brand-new Motley Fool report that identifies two automakers to buy for a surging Chinese market. It's completely free -- just click here to gain access.
The article 1 Shocking Chart Proves America Is Losing Power to Asia originally appeared on Fool.com.
John Maxfield owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
