Where are the best investment opportunities in 2026? The world's billionaires are betting more: China and Western Europe!

In the upcoming year 2025, thanks to factors such as the AI investment boom and loose monetary policies, the overall performance of the global stock market was strong, showing a rare simultaneous upward trend. Multinational stock indexes, including US stocks, hit record highs. Where are the best investment opportunities in 2026? At this point, the views of billionaires who control huge sums of money and have a sharper sense of investment than ordinary people may be a weather vane.

So where are the billionaires looking right now? A recent UBS report gave the answer.

UBS's latest annual survey of its billionaire clients covered a number of topics, including where they plan to invest their money over the next 12 months and 5 years.

Globally, billionaires' optimism about investment prospects in two regions is heating up dramatically: China and Western Europe.

Specifically, 40% of respondents said they are optimistic about investment opportunities in the Western European market in the next 12 months, which is a significant increase from 18% in 2024. Furthermore, 34% of respondents said they are optimistic about investment opportunities in the Greater China market in the next 12 months, which is also far higher than 11% last year.

It is worth noting that from the perspective of the next 5 years, the proportion of respondents who are optimistic about the Greater China market has also risen sharply, from 31% in 2024 to 48% in 2025.

Optimism about the North American market has cooled sharply

In contrast, billionaires' optimism about the North American market has cooled drastically. In the 2024 survey, 80% of respondents favored the North American market; in 2025, that percentage plummeted to 63%.

This shift in investment sentiment among billionaires stems from concerns about multiple risk factors, with tariffs bearing the brunt of these.

According to 66% of respondents, tariffs are one of the factors “most likely to have a negative impact on the market environment in the next 12 months”; they are closely followed by potentially major geopolitical conflicts (63%), policy uncertainty (59%), and higher inflation (44%).

A European UBS customer said bluntly: “Although the North American market is still deep and innovative, it is no longer our number one investment destination. For us, excessive concentration of investment in a single region creates risk, and only by diversifying the layout can we seize better opportunities.”

Which areas are you optimistic about?

The UBS report also revealed what areas billionaire investors plan to invest their money in.

Over the next 12 months, private equity markets, hedge funds, developed market stocks, and emerging market stocks are most likely to see more capital inflows from billionaire investors.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents said they plan to increase their exposure to private equity markets over the next 12 months; followed by hedge funds (43%), developed market stocks (43%), and emerging market stocks (42%).

This article is reprinted from the “Financial Association” app. Author: Bian Chun, Zhitong Finance Editor: Song Zhi Yi.