BBC News- The study said the global rich are increasingly attracted by private equity schemes and hedge funds as they offer more stable returns than shares.
Its findings come after recent global stock market volatility. The report by Barclays Wealth questioned 790 wealthy individuals from around the world.
It found that only 48% of respondents planned to buy further investments in stocks over the next three years, down from 64% over the past 36 months.
This comes following recent turbulence on the worldwide stock markets, sparked by record loan defaults in the US sub-prime mortgage market and a resulting shortfall in global credit.
By contrast, 15% of respondents said they planned to invest in private equity funds, up from 11% over the past three years; while 21% said they expected to invest in hedge funds, up from 20%.
