The credit crisis is altering the structure of the wealth management industry in Asia, according to a report from US technology consultancy Celent. Expected growth rates have been tempered and the industry is experiencing a high degree of turbulence in products, providers and channels.

Celent said its discussions with players across the Asian markets suggest differing assessments for the various Asian sub-regions.

The wealth management markets in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan in the east, Singapore in the south-east, and United Arab Emirates in the Middle East are sophisticated and mature, reacting to the credit crisis in much the same way as the developed western economies. The wealth management markets in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam in the south-east, China and India are reacting more gradually, the Celent report said. 

"Until as recently as the second quarter of 2008, it was believed that Asia would be spared any significant fallout from the credit crisis developing in the US and western Europe," said Ravi Nawal, an analyst at Celent and author of the report.

"The notion that the financial systems of the majority of Asian countries are loosely decoupled from the world economy has recently come into question due to the adverse market movements being felt in most Asian financial centres," Mr Nawal said.