HSBC says super-rich clients moving into cash (Laura MacInnis)

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GENEVA (Reuters) -- Many of the world's wealthiest people have moved their money out of stocks and bonds and into cash, the head of HSBC's Swiss private banking unit said.

"The first half of 2008 has seen a notable change in client expectations and investment choices," Peter Braunwalder, chief executive of HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), the British-based bank's main affiliate catering to the ultra-rich, said Monday.

"Faced with inflation worries, volatile asset prices and sudden changes in exchange rates, a majority of investors have reduced their transaction volumes in equities, bonds, and structured products," he told a news briefing in Geneva.

This was particularly true for clients from Asia, whose demand for complex investment tools such as equity derivatives has "drastically decreased" in response to recent financial market upheaval, said Braunwalder.

"Concurrently, most clients increased their cash allocation and, for some, their leverage," he added.