Research on the Influencing Factors of Equity Asset Allocation among High Net Worth Individuals in China

Presently, the asset allocation of Chinese resident families and HNWIs is mainly characterized by the following two irrationalities: Firstly, high proportion of non-financial assets and the excessive reliance of families on real estate may bring many drawbacks such as over-concentration of risk and reduction of liquidity; Secondly, low holding rate and small holding scale of equity assets, and the concentration of wealth in cash and fixed-income assets may lead to difficulties in enjoying the benefits brought by rapid growth of the domestic economy. This study examines the key factors affecting the equity asset allocation of Chinese HNWIs, with the aim of providing a practical basis for HNWIs and wealth management practitioners to facilitate the inflow of capital into the capital market, thereby promoting the high-quality development of China's financial market.The study first sorts out the relevant theories and literatures in terms of asset allocation, and also compares the household asset allocation in China with that in developed countries such as America and Japan, to find out the differences and analyze the possible reasons. Subsequently, it proposes possible influencing factors through integrating related theories, and conducts questionnaire survey based on the hypotheses. Finally, multiple linear regression method is used to test the correlation between each factor and the proportion of equity asset allocation and put forward corresponding policy suggestions. The main findings of this study are as follows: First, investors' educational background is positively correlated with their proportion of equity asset allocation. The higher the education level and the deeper the background in finance, the higher their proportion of equity asset allocation. Second, retail investors who rely on their own research for investment have a higher allocation to stock assets. Third, investors with shorter average investment cycles have higher allocations to equity assets. Fourth, investors with higher investment expectations and higher maximum acceptable losses have higher equity asset allocations. Based on these, it is recommended to increase special education and training, strengthen the sharing of investment experience among HNWIs, and encourage long-term investors and professional investment advisers to increase equity asset allocation in order to realize wealth preservation and appreciation.