Affluent Indians reset financial goals post pandemic: Report

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According to the Wealth Expectancy Report 2021 by Standard Chartered bank, many individuals from the affluent sections of India have reset their life goals following the pandemic, but the confidence gap post the pandemic is preventing them from taking the necessary actions to achieve their new goals. Post-pandemic, 94% have reset their life goals and for 48% of the respondents the pandemic has diminished their confidence in their finances.

Despite taking some action about their respective finances last year, the report revealed that nearly half of the respondents feel less confident about the same. To address this lack of confidence, professional assistance can help consumers, it said.

Loss of confidence

According to the report, the pandemic has prompted the affluent in India to become more future focused while resetting their priorities. Forty two per cent of people have set the goal to improve their health followed by the goal to be financially prepared for major life changes like having a child or moving abroad, which is 39% and 37% say that they want to set aside more for their children’s future which entails education or financial support.

It further said that the emerging affluent have suffered a loss of confidence disproportionately, with half reporting less confidence as compared to 41% of High Net Worth individuals.

The three of the most common barriers to pursuing the financial goals of the affluent across the wealth spectrum in India were volatility in financial markets which comes to 30%, insufficient information about specific investment opportunities was at 28%, while the practical difficulties in shifting investment strategies was also at 28%.