41% of Europe’s high-net-worth individuals have relocated in the last decade, while 53% plan to do so in the next 10 years, according to new research released today by NPG Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership.

These findings, drawn from The Meaning of Life: The Dynamics of Work and Life for Europe’s Wealth Creators, are based on 500 European HNWIs with an average net worth of €3.6 million. The research indicates that the wealthy are increasingly embracing an internationally mobile lifestyle. Indeed, nearly two thirds of HNW millennials (64%) intend to move abroad in the future.

“For the wealthy, the world is shrinking; international mobility and a cross-border lifestyle are no longer the preserve of the UHNW but a reality for the majority of HNWs too. These findings highlight that wealth managers need to be prepared to deliver advice that spans outside of their own borders and ensure that their clients have investment solutions that meet multi-jurisdictional compliance requirements” said Marc Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of NPG Wealth Management.

The insight also reveals that relocation could be the fast-track to financial success. Those who have moved abroad in the last decade typically enjoy salaries that are €140,000 higher than those who have not. However, these rewards come at a price. Individuals who have relocated are more likely to approach life with a “work hard” philosophy, typically spending over 70 hours a week in the office.

Despite being time-poor, relocators are not turning their backs on financial planning but are more proactively setting wealth goals than their peers who have remained in the same country. 38% of the internationally mobile are saving for their next technology purchase and 32% are saving for a luxury vehicle, compared to 25% and 13% of those who have not moved respectively.

All European HNWIs tended towards similar products to help them achieve these financial goals, typically favouring ISAs and standard savings accounts. However, for those who have relocated, the next most frequently used investment or savings product was life assurance, with 29% of movers favouring this product.

“Life assurance offers significant benefits for internationally mobile clients, including cross-border inheritance planning, portability of a contract when relocating and the ability to adjust the level of investment and protection implicit in the policy, which is probably why it is so appealing to these wanderers of wealth” added Stevens.

Other key findings:

• 35% of European who have not relocated in the last 10 years cite financial security as the main motivation to work hard. Among internationally mobile HNWIs, this drops to fewer than one in four and more personal and emotive reasons come into play, such as building status or pursuing a certain lifestyle.

• Internationally mobile HNWIs are three times more likely to be entrepreneurs (43%) than those who have remained in their home market (16%).

• Perhaps keen to take advantage of their higher incomes, explorers of the world appear to spend more freely than those who chose not to move. Almost half of relocators purchased high value technology in the last 12 months, compared to just over a third of those who have not moved.