Asia's rich overtake Europe, says wealth report

The population of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in Asia-Pacific recovered from the global financial crisis more rapidly than elsewhere, according to the latest Merrill Lynch-Capgemini world wealth report. The report defines HNWIs as having investable assets of at least $1 million.

The region's wealth surged 30.9% to $9.7 trillion – surpassing the $9.5 trillion in wealth held by Europe's HNWIs – on the back of a stock market recovery during 2009 and a new approach to risk management,