Next-gen wealthy Hongkongers drop property for higher returns in deposits and hedge funds
When Maria’s family moved out of their house in Hong Kong’s Southern district, one of the bigger jobs was packing her mother’s belongings, including the orange Hermes boxes that had accumulated in the family gym. Her 86-year-old father was reluctant to rent, while her mother – who had spent her life buying homes – initially insisted that if they were going to rent, she wanted a house rather than…
Maria and her family are shifting their wealth from property investments to more liquid assets like deposits and hedge funds in Hong Kong. Her father, a businessman who started the family fortune in the 1960s, built a substantial property portfolio, but Maria is looking to liquidate it all to earn higher returns. Currently, the family holds residential and commercial properties worth HK$20 million to HK$100 million, with Maria wanting to sell the commercial unit at The Centre in Central, which she bought for over HK$100 million and now estimates at HK$60 million.
She is instead investing in long-short hedge funds, multi-asset strategies, and AI, biotechnology, and robotics. Hong Kong residential rental yields are currently about 3 to 3.5%, while US dollar deposit rates are above 4%, making deposits a more attractive investment. Maria recently took over management of the family's investments, budgeting about HK$5 million a year for rent, management fees, rates, utilities, and household expenses at The Repulse Bay, a luxury seaside complex popular with expatriates and senior professionals.
She argues that the returns on her investments would cover the cost of living there while leaving the principal invested. As Hong Kong's residential rental yields fall behind US dollar deposit rates, the trade-off has become more visible, and the family is increasingly liquidating their assets.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
