Mubasher: Global wealth growth posted the slowest pace seen since five years as the worst stock market defeat hit high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and undermined asset managers’ profitability, an annual report said.

Global wealth rose by a slight 1.6% to $205.9 trillion last year, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said, citing the “ripple effect” from the worst performance of equities in two decades.

The slowdown marked a sharp drop from the 7.5% rate seen in the prior year, and the 6.2% collective annual growth rate from 2013 to 2017.

Factor in the effect of a recovering US dollar and asset values in fact dipped by 1.6% last year, excluding any gain, BCG's wealth-management practice global leader Anna Zakrzewski said.

“For the first time since 2008, we saw wealth growth was negative when you take into account all the factors,” Zakrzewski was quoted by Bloomberg.

Personal wealth in North America declined by 0.4%, while in Japan saw a wealth contraction of 1.3%.

Asia mainly took the hardest blow from the world’s financial woes, as asset growth retreated to 7.1% in 2018 from a 2017 peak of 11.5%.

Wealth growth in Africa came at an 8.6% rate, while Western Europe recorded a 0.6% gain.

The ranks of millionaires continued to expand, rising by 2.1% last year to 22.1 million.

Globally, the ranks of millionaires are set to reach 27.6 million by 2023, BCG projected.