Nearly four in five (78%) of global HNW investors are holding historically large cash holdings, according to a survey by global fund manager Capital Group.

In addition, almost half (48%) of HNW investors now consider bonds to be as risky as equities, according to the study.

Among the reasons stated for concern over the next 12 months were a fear of higher volatility (60%), a return of high inflation (56%) and interest rate increases (41%).

While geopolitics was seen as a major risk, causing 55% of investors to be increasingly uncertain about where to invest, there was some longer-term optimism, according to the research.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of HNW investors said they planned to invest more in equities over the next 12 months, with one-third citing good value as a reason for the increase.

HNW investors were also considering increasing allocations to bonds (49%) within a year, with a bias towards higher quality fixed income.

Some 90% of HNW investors said they favoured government bonds, 85% favoured high yield bonds and 84% leant towards investment grade corporate bonds.

Among the HNW investors surveyed, 58% said they expected fixed income and equities to be less risky than cash over the next 10 years due to expected falling cash interest rates.

Alexandra Haggard, head of asset class services, Europe and Asia, at Capital Group, said: “It’s easy to be parked in cash but we believe that perhaps the biggest market risk today is holding excess cash. Cash rates historically decay quickly after the peak in central bank rates, hence for high net worth investors, having too much cash in a portfolio could hinder their long-term wealth generation.”

Capital Group has managed multi-asset, equity and fixed income investment strategies for different types of investors since 1931. The firm works with financial intermediaries and institutions to manage more than US$2.5trn (£1.98trn) in long-term assets for investors around the world.

• The Capital Group study was commissioned to gather the views of 450 global high-net-worth investors via a survey conducted by Financial Times Longitude between 4 December 2023 and 23 January 2024.