More than half of wealthy Malaysians have made formal plans for passing on their wealth, outpacing the regional average and placing Malaysia ahead of several larger Asian markets, according to a new survey by HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd.

The survey, titled High Net Worth Legacy Planning in Asia and the Middle East, was conducted by Ipsos Asia Ltd and involved 900 high-net-worth individuals across nine markets including Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Respondents held investable assets of at least US$2 million, equivalent to approximately RM7.95 million.

Malaysia Ahead Of Regional Average

52% of Malaysian respondents had made formal legacy plans, compared with an average of 41% across all nine markets surveyed. Malaysia also recorded the highest share of respondents who began planning before the age of 50, at 82%.

HSBC attributed this to strong GDP growth and rising incomes, which the bank said has created a greater sense of urgency around legacy planning among high-net-worth Malaysians. Family considerations are the primary driver, particularly the desire to avoid potential financial disputes within the family.

Globally, the picture is less settled. Across the nine markets, 44% of high-net-worth individuals are still in the early stages of planning and gathering information, while 15% have not yet started at all.

Life Insurance Overtakes Wills As The Preferred Tool

Across the nine markets, life insurance has emerged as the preferred legacy planning tool, surpassing traditional instruments such as wills. 25% of high-net-worth individuals surveyed use life insurance as their primary tool, with India leading, followed by Thailand and Indonesia. Malaysia currently sits at 17%.

The appeal is partly practical. Among high-net-worth respondents, 77% cited privacy as a key advantage of life insurance for wealth transfer, and 73% cited payout certainty. Unlike wills, which go through probate and can be contested, life insurance policies allow wealth to transfer quickly and discreetly to named beneficiaries.

A Younger Wave Of Wealthy Planners

HSBC Malaysia’s country head of international wealth and premier banking, Linda Yip, noted a growing number of younger high-net-worth individuals in Malaysia. “Asia is in the midst of one of the largest transfers of wealth to the next generation in its history, and Malaysia is very much part of that shift,” she said.

The scale of that shift is significant. According to McKinsey, Asia-Pacific’s high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families are expected to transfer approximately US$5.8 trillion in wealth by 2030, driven by ageing first-generation wealth creators passing assets to the next generation.

The findings point to a shift in how wealth is being managed across the region. In Malaysia, the combination of earlier planning, higher adoption of formal tools, and growing wealth among younger individuals suggests that legacy planning is no longer deferred to later in life. That said, formal legacy planning remains far from universal. Malaysia is estimated to have RM65 billion in unclaimed funds stemming from poor inheritance planning, a reminder that the gap between intention and action remains wide across income groups.

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Iman Aminuddin

Iman writes about personal finance with curiosity. She is interested in the stories behind money, the hesitation around big decisions, and the small habits that shape financial futures. Off the clock, she is either dissecting a film or climbing her way up the leaderboard in her favourite games.

About THE AUTHOR

Iman Aminuddin

Iman Aminuddin

Iman writes about personal finance with curiosity. She is interested in the stories behind money, the hesitation around big decisions, and the small habits that shape financial futures. Off the clock, she is either dissecting a film or climbing her way up the leaderboard in her favourite games.

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