How the Wealthiest Build Resilient Portfolios and Why Property Plays a Central Role

The CapiWell Perspective looks at how wealthy individuals around the world adjust their investment portfolios and what these trends reveal about the importance of property in preserving wealth over the long term.

Global private wealth continues to expand, yet the way the world’s wealthiest individuals allocate capital is undergoing a structural shift. Research from UBS, PwC and BCG shows that although large fortunes are still growing, investment decisions are increasingly driven by stability, jurisdictional reliability and long-term preservation. Switzerland, with its legal consistency and limited real-estate supply, exemplifies many of the preferences that shape contemporary wealth strategy. A recurring pattern emerges among the most affluent: lasting wealth is anchored in structures that remain steady even when the environment does not.

Global Wealth Expands While Caution Gains Weight

The UBS – PwC Billionaires Report 2025 records a 14 percent increase in global billionaire wealth over the past year. The number of individuals with more than USD 1 billion rose from 2’919 to 3’025. According to BCG, global financial wealth is expected to grow from USD 312 trillion today to nearly USD 405 trillion by 2029, an annual growth rate of around six percent.
These gains are concentrated among those with more than USD 100 million in assets, particularly in technology and private markets. Yet despite expanding capital, allocation behaviour has become more conservative. Large asset bases tend to heighten awareness of vulnerability rather than diminish it. This pattern suggests that as fortunes grow, so does the instinct to safeguard their most stable elements.

Wealth Creation and Wealth Preservation Are Not Driven by the Same Forces

Technology continues to generate extraordinary wealth. Advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and semiconductors helped global technology fortunes rise by more than 20 percent in the past year. Industrial wealth has also expanded, supported by automation and the energy transition.
Yet the sectors that create wealth are rarely those relied upon to preserve it. High-growth industries come with volatility, rapid technological change and regulatory exposure. Investors who derive their wealth from innovation often pair these gains with assets that remain stable through market swings. The striking insight is that wealth born from volatile sectors is often secured through assets that move to a different rhythm.

Regional Wealth Patterns Highlight the Importance of Jurisdiction

The geography of wealth adds further insight. The United States remains the world’s largest centre of private wealth with 960 billionaires, most of them self-made. China follows with 495, reflecting the strength of private enterprise in logistics, manufacturing and consumer technology. Europe, by contrast, shows a more inheritance-driven structure. Germany’s number of billionaires rose from 156 to 168, though only one quarter are self-made. Here, multi-generational planning shapes investment decisions that emphasise continuity and legal security.
These differences show that diversification for the wealthy has broadened beyond asset classes to include legal frameworks and political systems. The broader principle becomes evident: durable fortunes position themselves in jurisdictions where rules, rights and taxation hold their course over time.

Allocation Trends Show a More Defensive Stance

The UBS – PwC survey reflects a cautious allocation landscape. Only 64 percent of respondents consider the United States the most attractive investment market for the coming year, compared with 68 percent previously. Interest in Western Europe and Asia has edged higher as investors diversify their geographic exposure.
Hedge-fund allocations are expected to rise among 44 percent of respondents. Gold, which appreciated by more than 50 percent in 2024, continues to gain favour, with 31 percent planning to increase holdings and only 3 percent expecting to reduce them. Equity exposures remain relevant but are approached selectively. Bonds draw limited enthusiasm. This reveals a further pattern: resilient portfolios are designed to withstand several possible futures rather than rely on one expected scenario.

Scarcity-Based Assets Regain Central Importance

Across the UBS, PwC and BCG reports, tangible assets rooted in scarcity have regained prominence. In the UBS–PwC survey, 33 percent of respondents intend to increase property allocations, while 20 percent plan reductions. Scarcity, price stability and inflation protection are key drivers.
Such assets cannot be produced quickly and tend to retain relevance across cycles and generations. Their appeal lies not in short-term yield but in long-term durability. A clear principle follows: scarcity reinforces stability, and assets that cannot be reproduced readily tend to anchor portfolios with particular strength.

Switzerland Reflects Modern Wealth Preservation Priorities

Switzerland’s wealth profile aligns closely with these global patterns. According to UBS, roughly eight percent of adults in Switzerland hold wealth above USD 1 million. More than 430 individuals have assets exceeding USD 50 million. Swiss institutions manage nearly USD 2.5 trillion in cross-border wealth, according to BCG.
Residence patterns reinforce Switzerland’s role. More than one third of UBS–PwC survey respondents have changed residence at least once, and Switzerland consistently appears among preferred destinations alongside Singapore, Monaco, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Tax stability remains a core attraction. In November 2025, around 78 percent of Swiss voters again rejected a federal inheritance-tax proposal. Most cantons impose no inheritance tax on transfers to direct descendants. The implication is unmistakable: predictable taxation and legal clarity form essential pillars of long-term wealth architecture.

Swiss Property Shows Why Scarcity Matters

Swiss real estate offers a tangible illustration of these principles. The Federal Statistical Office reports a national vacancy rate of 1.15 percent, with Zurich and Geneva frequently below one percent. Wüest Partner’s 2025 Immobilienmonitor shows residential prices rising about 85 percent since 2000 and more than 120 percent in major cities.
Prime residential yields in central Zurich or Geneva typically range between 2.1 and 2.6 percent. Annual transaction volumes of CHF 60 to 65 billion underline the depth of the market despite its structural constraints. These features position Swiss property as a store of value rather than a speculative instrument. The broader insight is that in markets shaped by stability and scarcity, property functions as a durable anchor across economic cycles.

Professional Access to Property Gains Relevance

As interest in tangible, scarcity-based assets increases, many investors prefer access through professionally managed structures rather than through direct ownership. Administration, tenant management and ongoing maintenance require resources that private investors are often reluctant to commit. Structured investment vehicles offer a more efficient entry point into the Swiss property market.
CapiWell provides such access by enabling participation in professionally managed Swiss real-estate portfolios. The approach allows investors to integrate scarcity-based property into a diversified wealth strategy without the operational demands of individual ownership.

How Lasting Wealth Is Built

Across continents and sectors, the behaviour of the wealthy reveals a consistent logic. Lasting fortunes rely less on chasing returns and more on constructing portfolios that can endure. They favour scarcity over abundance, stable jurisdictions over uncertainty and long-term resilience over short-term excitement. Swiss property, with its limited supply and legal clarity, reflects these principles in concentrated form. The concluding pattern is clear: enduring wealth rests on tangible assets, particularly real estate, which tend to hold their footing even when financial markets shift.