High net worth individuals’ top three financial resolutions for 2016 are to build funds for their retirement, to more regularly review their investment portfolios, and to save more to leave for their loved ones in their wills, reveals a poll by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

deVere Group carried out an international survey in the last two months of 2015 in which it was found that 41 per cent of those polled said their priority for the year ahead was to save more for their retirement.

27 per cent cited more regular reviews of their investments as their primary objective, whilst 23 per cent answered that their main goal was to build funds to leave as a legacy for their beneficiaries.  9 per cent responded with a variety of different resolutions.

deVere CEO and founder, Nigel Green, observes:  “Against a concerning backdrop of dangerously large company pension deficits, low interest rates, changes to pension tax relief thresholds, the demographic pressures of an ageing population leading to the scrapping or reduction of some age-related benefits and public services, and soaring medical and care costs, amongst other factors, even the richest people in society are now worried about not having accumulated enough money to last throughout their retirement.

“If this section of society is concerned about such matters, it should be a red-flag to middle and lower income earners to ensure they are also saving enough and, crucially, as efficiently as possible, for their mature years.

“Life expectancy is a key factor here too.  As we are living longer the funds we generate need to last longer than ever.  Bearing all this in mind, it is sensible that the number one resolution is to save more for retirement in the year ahead.”

Mr Green continues: “2016 is set to be a difficult year for the global economy; it will certainly be shaped by market volatility.  Key drivers of this volatility include the fall of oil prices, China’s slowdown, the economic plight of emerging economies such as Brazil, the U.S. presidential elections, and Greece’s trap of debt and austerity.

“With so much turbulence on the horizon, it’s prudent to increase reviews, and where necessary, rebalance investment portfolios to ensure that they always remain ‘on track’ to reach their financial goals by mitigating the risks and taking advantage of the inevitable upsides.”

The deVere CEO goes on to say: “Leaving behind a decent legacy to loved ones is an honourable and very natural instinct for most people.  Hence why ensuring enough funds are accumulated, and in a way that allows them to pass on as much of their estate as possible, ranks as the third most important priority in the poll.”

Nigel Green concludes: “Whilst this poll highlights the 2016 resolutions of high-net-worth individuals, I believe there would be very similar results for a survey of middle-income earners.  This is because wealth enables people and their families to achieve the lifestyle they desire and, as such, there would be inevitable parallels across income brackets.”

655 deVere clients, between the ages of 25 and 70, with investable assets of more than 1million GBP were surveyed.  Respondents are residents of the UK, the U.S., South Africa, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Qatar and the UAE.