SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - A new residential investment index by Henley & Partners and Deep Knowledge Analytics has ranked the top 25 capital cities around the world where high-net worth individuals can acquire residence through investment migration programmes.

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The top five cities are London, New York, Sydney, Singapore and Zurich. The index considers factors such as lifestyle, tax, education, real estate, healthcare, security, infrastructure, stability as well as Covid-19 safety and investment migration programmes.

According to Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, the index is a useful tool to those considering investment migration as a means of creating optionality in terms of where they and their families can live, work, study and invest.

“Residence-by-investment programs provide a channel for building a migration portfolio of multiple complementary residence and citizenship options to hedge against volatility,” he says, adding that the wide geographic range indicates the diversity of available residence-by-investment programme options around the world.

London and New York took the top positions and both cities scored well in many parameters including education, security, and stability. For London, the UK Investor Immigration Programme, introduced in 1994, is the most established residence-by-investor option. While New York has the US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program that was created in 1990.

Singapore scored the highest overall in terms of Covid-19 safety, lifestyle, and infrastructure. The report cited the city-states' low-crime rate and ease of conducting business as other contributing factors.

“Along with seeking out new domicile options for their families, more and more investors are considering relocating their businesses. This trend had begun pre-pandemic, but it is accelerating,” says Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners.