Assets under management have dropped substantially worldwide

A study has found that wealth has dropped 11.7 percent to $92.4 trillion over the period of the financial crisis.

The study by a Boston consulting group found wealth would not return to 2007 levels for another six years.

The United States, was the hardest hit region, primarily due to the decline in US equity investments in 2008.

Also hit hard were off-shore wealth centres, where many companies and individuals had gone to avoid tax.

In Switzerland and the Caribbean, assets declined to $6.7 trillion in 2008 from $7.3 trillion in 2007.

Millionaires who made risky investments during the economic boom were especially hard hit, with the number of millionaires worldwide shrinking 17.8 percent to 9 million.