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| With the increasing number of wealthy individuals, the demand for professional personal financial advice in Vietnam is also rising. |
The wealthy prefer to hold gold and real estate.
A 2025 survey showed that, on average, Vietnamese people allocate up to 31% of their assets to real estate and 14% to gold, reflecting a preference for tangible assets and a greater inclination towards "saving money" rather than maximizing returns.
“The investment mindset of many Vietnamese people, including the wealthy, is strongly influenced by a culture that prioritizes tangible assets. Real estate and gold have long been considered preferred ‘money-keeping’ options. Over the past five years, this trend has remained largely unchanged, with most investors choosing only 2-3 traditional channels (land, gold, bank savings) instead of diversifying their portfolios. Vietnamese people tend to focus on tangible and visible assets. This shows that Vietnamese people value capital preservation more than taking risks to seek high returns,” commented an analyst from SHS Securities Company.
The Vietnamese super-rich's preference for real estate has been ongoing for many years. Knight Frank estimates that nearly two-thirds of the total value of the super-rich's assets is in real estate. On average, a super-rich individual in Asia and Vietnam owns 3.3 residential properties, higher than the world average (2.9). Real estate is considered a safe haven when inflation is high.
Simultaneously, Vietnamese people have also accumulated a huge amount of gold (estimated at around 400 tons) as a hedge against economic fluctuations – a habit stemming from a history of high inflation and macroeconomic instability in previous decades.
- Mr. Nguyen Vu Long, General Director of VNDirect Securities Joint Stock Company
In Vietnam, we have witnessed clients owning properties worth hundreds of billions of dong, yet facing liquidity problems and being unable to borrow even a small amount to repay short-term debts. This demonstrates that asset management is not just about increasing value, but more importantly, about managing risk, especially debt-related risk, to help clients protect their financial security.Currently, the asset management industry in Vietnam lacks a comprehensive legal framework, standards, and full awareness from both clients and businesses. However, I believe that the next 3-5 years will be a golden period for asset management in Vietnam to develop and professionalize.
According to analysts at SHS Securities, this investment bias among the wealthy (primarily holding money in real estate) results in their investment portfolios often being unbalanced, illiquid, and dependent on real estate cycles.
Currently, with the stock market booming and deposit interest rates falling, many people have shifted some of their savings to stocks, investment funds, etc., but the preferred investments remain real estate and gold.
In reality, not only the super-rich, but the majority of Vietnamese investors choose gold and real estate when they have spare money, with the mentality that "people reproduce, but land doesn't." This drives up real estate prices continuously, even though, in fact, many investors become victims of the speculative bubble, stuck with land for decades unable to sell.
Responding to the question of why, to date, not many financial institutions have strongly developed comprehensive financial advisory services, with most only selling individual financial products, Dr. Dinh The Hien, Director of the Institute for Applied Informatics and Economics Research, emphasized that the Vietnamese personal finance market will find it difficult to break through if it continues to prioritize real estate without shifting to developing other financial products. The current real estate market itself lacks transparency, with many investors chasing rumors for high profits. Banks are simultaneously financing real estate purchases and lending to developers, bearing the risks associated with this market's excessively large share.
According to Dr. Dinh The Hien, in the next 5-10 years, when real estate risks are diversified and the amended Land Law comes into effect, there will be an opportunity for comprehensive financial consulting to develop in a meaningful way.
Change your habits: Let a professional manage your personal assets.
Experts point out that Vietnamese people, including the super-rich, are not yet accustomed to entrusting their assets to others for advice and management. This is why they pour money into "classic" investment channels such as real estate and gold.
According to economist Dr. Can Van Luc, most Vietnamese investors prioritize traditional investment channels (savings, gold, real estate); only 0.4-0.5% of the population invests through open-ended funds, while this figure is 57% in the US and 30% in Singapore...
Furthermore, according to Dr. Dinh The Hien, wealthy individuals focus on gold and real estate also because financial products on the market are limited. For example, the stock market, despite having been established for over 20 years, still lacks diversity in products and fund certificates; the insurance industry is still limited to a few basic funds.
Nevertheless, along with the increasing number of wealthy individuals, experts predict that the demand for professional personal financial advice in Vietnam will increase. Vietnam's per capita income has steadily increased by approximately 6% per year for nearly 40 years. From now until 2045, coupled with high economic growth, average income is projected to increase by 7-9% per year. Therefore, the proportion of wealthy clients is rapidly growing. The number of individuals with a net worth of at least $1 million increased by 70% between 2017 and 2022. According to the World Bank, it is projected that by 2030, approximately 50% of Vietnam's population will belong to the middle class.
Currently, the challenges facing the personal finance advisory profession in Vietnam stem not only from investor habits but also from a lack of a legal framework, the rudimentary nature of financial advisory services, and the fact that personal finance advisory activities are still primarily sales-oriented, leading to a lack of customer trust.
Mr. Nguyen Vu Long, General Director of VNDirect Securities Joint Stock Company, stated that VNDirect manages over $10 billion in securities assets with 500 consulting staff. Mr. Long noted that asset management is not just about increasing value, but more importantly, about managing risk, especially risk related to debt. Without caution, we can fall into a debt spiral, rendering even the largest paper assets meaningless. The debt trap is also the root cause of many financial crises around the world.
Time: 13:00, Thursday, September 25, 2025
Location: Pullman Hotel, 40 Cat Linh Street, Hanoi
VWAS 2025 - An annual forum organized by the Finance and Investment Newspaper and the Vietnam Financial Advisors Community (VWA) under the patronage of the Ministry of Finance .
The forum includes the following activities:
• The main conference included two sessions of presentations and discussions on the topics "Support for Market Resilience" and "Finding Breakthroughs for Asset Classes," with the participation of leading domestic and international managers, economists, and financial experts.
• Honoring 8 outstanding financial products/services in 2025, including:
1. Typical priority customer service
2. Typical financial brokerage services
3. Typical investment asset management services
4. Typical technology products and digital transformation initiatives.
5. Innovative personal finance solutions
6. The real estate developer offers comprehensive financial solutions.
7. Outstanding Real Estate Consultant
8. Insurance products that best meet financial protection needs.
The Vietnam Financial Advisors Summit 2025 will be held both in-person and online via the Finance & Business YouTube channel with over 500,000 followers, the Vietnam Financial Advisors Community Facebook Group with nearly 300,000 members, and on the platforms of the Finance - Investment Newspaper.
Contact for sponsorship:
Mr. Nguyen Hong - Mobile: 0903684558, Email: [email protected]
Mr. Tuan Khanh – 0913016139, E: [email protected]
Contact us to nominate outstanding financial products/services for 2025:
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen - Mobile: 0988086991, Email: [email protected]
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hong - Mobile: 0942386611, Email: [email protected]
Source: https://baodautu.vn/gioi-nha-giau-viet-thich-giu-tien-hon-dau-tu-mao-hiem-d373191.html
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