Wealthy Asian Investors Shifting Away From US Assets and Into Gold, Crypto and Chinese Markets, According to UBS: Report

The global wealth manager UBS is reportedly seeing a shift in investment interest among its affluent customers in Asia.

The Cailian News Agency reports that during the Bloomberg New Voices event in Hong Kong on Tuesday, UBS co-head of wealth management for Asia Amy Lo says that the Swiss bank’s high-net-worth clients are increasingly veering away from US dollar assets and turning to gold, cryptocurrency and Chinese assets.

In an interview with Bloomberg correspondent Yvonne Man during the event, Lo says that gold is very popular now. Gold is traditionally regarded as a safe haven investment and prices of the yellow metal have been surging to record highs this year amid concerns that economic slowdowns will ensue following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of higher tariffs.

Lo says that the trade tension between the US and China is also prompting investors to diversify their asset allocations, which have been traditionally “quite US-centered”. The conflict between the two nations escalated after the Trump administration imposed a sweeping 104 tariff on Chinese goods. In response, China imposed an 84 tariff on American imports.

Lo says investors are also funneling more funds to cryptocurrencies, commodities and alternative assets. She warns that volatility will continue.