India has lost out to China by a wide margin in its appeal as an attractive market for the wealthy and affluent American investors, who are casting their net beyond the US in search for better returns.

Indicating increased interest of wealthy people in investing abroad, two of every five affluent households in the US expect to invest or continue investing in overseas markets, according to a new study released on Thursday.

While China has emerged as the most appealing overseas destination for the affluent American investors, India could find a place only at the fourth position on their radar.

In the survey carried out by US-based strategic consulting firm focused on affluent markets, Spectrem Group, nearly one-third (31 per cent) said they have increased their foreign investments from the past, while a similar proportion is planning to increase its overseas investment in the future.

The affluent households, defined as having more than $5 lakh of investable assets, named India as the fourth most appealing market on their international investment radar, after China, Europe and Japan.

Asked which countries or areas appealed to them the most for investment purposes, the households named China as their most preferred destination (30 per cent), followed by 20 per cent going for Europe, 12 per cent for Japan and 11 per cent for India.

According to the survey, parking the money in international markets has emerged as more popular option than some well-known alternative investment avenues like hedge funds, venture capital, private placements and Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Even India scored over the hedge funds, which got support from just eight per cent of the respondents.