Singapore's top-earning millennials not confident of financial success

Singapore's top-earning millennials not confident of financial success

Millennials who are in the top 20 per cent income bracket in Singapore have the least confidence in achieving their wealth aspirations among peers in 10 economies, a study found.

Of the 213 polled in Singapore with an annual income of at least S$100,000, only 44 per cent were confident of achieving their wealth aspirations, way below the global average of 63 per cent.

Those in India (77 per cent), Mexico (72 per cent) and China (72 per cent) were most confident of doing so.

This was a key finding in a UBS global study released on Wednesday on changing attitudes to wealth on the top 20 per cent earners in their respective markets aged 18-34.

The online poll was conducted in October on more than 2,000 top-earning millennials from the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, Germany, Singapore, Mexico, South Africa and Russia.

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It found that those in more mature markets - Singapore, Germany, the US and the UK - prefer experiences to possessions, prefer the stability of a permanent job and are increasingly insecure.

Those polled in these four territories feel their progress is stalling compared to their parents' generation, are less likely to consider starting their own businesses, and are least likely to venture abroad to pursue opportunities.

In Singapore, one in four surveyed named limited technological skills as a barrier to success. About one in three said they are most likely to see themselves as less entrepreneurial than their parents.

The study also found that 37 per cent of those polled in Singapore consider their limited social networks to be holding them back from financial success, compared to the global average of 28 per cent.

Globally, almost one in nine polled aspire mostly to something other than being rich in possessions or cash; more than one in three consider exciting experiences to be the embodiment of a wealthy lifestyle; and less than two in three are confident of being financially successful, or consider themselves already attaining such success.

The study also said that London, New York and Dubai were the top three cities cited as places where millennials could seek new opportunities, even as there is less room in these traditional economies for modern way of working.

Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said world leaders need to acknowledge they have failed and are failing many.

"With not only jobs but entire industries disappearing, we must help people to retrain for a new world and support them financially while they do so.

If communities and economies cannot cope with current levels of migration, we must do more to encourage global development.

We need to find new ways for young people across the globe to feel optimistic about the future. The whole world has a part to play if our planet is to thrive in the long term," he said.

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This article was first published on December 01, 2016.
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