Some of the world’s wealthiest families are stockpiling cash in anticipation of a full-blown recession that they believe will hit the U.S. economy by 2020, according to the UBS Global Family Office Report.
A UBS survey, which polled 360 ultra-rich households, found that more than half of wealthy families worth an average of $1.2 billion each see the U.S. sliding into recession within a year. And 45 percent of the families surveyed reported boosting their cash reserves in case of an economic slowdown.
“We are very cautious,” said a survey respondent who manages a multi-family office in North America. “Even now with the market we don’t feel very comfortable.”
More than 90 percent of private firms that handle money for the ultra-rich think the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China will have “major economic implications”, CDS News reported.
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Many economists, however, remain more sanguine about the global economic outlook, predicting that the recession is either not likely to happen or will not be as bad as anticipated.
“Who knows what will happen with Brexit, what will happen in the E.U., and what will happen between the U.S. and China,” said another survey respondent, a CEO of a family office in Europe.
“There are so many open questions, and this could have a dramatic impact on the market. In general, we think we have reached our peak.”
