Wealthy investors across the globe are cautious on the outlook for 2020 in anticipation of increased market volatility. However, they are bullish on the decade ahead, according to a survey by UBS.

The study surveyed over 3,400 HNW investors in Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, UK, and the US.

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Of those polled, 72% found the investment environment more challenging than it was five years earlier while 79% predicted that markets will become more volatile.

The key areas of concern include the US-China trade war, domestic politics, and the upcoming US election that were cited by 44%, 41% and 37% of the respondents, respectively.

Currently, affluent investors were found to hold 25% of their assets in cash, with 60% planning to raise the level further.

However, when asked about their outlook on the decade ahead, 69% were positive on investment returns. Also, 88% of the respondents said that they were keen to align their portfolios with long-term investment mega-trends.

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Sustainable investing was an area of interest for 82% of the respondents, the study revealed. The interest was found to be more pronounced in young investors.

UBS Global Wealth Management client strategy officer Paula Polito said: “The rapidly changing geopolitical environment is the biggest concern for investors around the world.

“They see global interconnectivity and reverberations of change impacting their portfolios more than traditional business fundamentals, a marked change from the past.”