Contact Information: Contact: Sharon Bially (774) 270-1293 sharon@farrellkramer.com
For the First Time, Mass Affluent Drop Brokers as Sole No. 1 Choice for Primary Advisor
Independent Financial Planners Now Tied With Full-Service Brokers; Mass Affluent Who Consider Themselves Conservative Investors Nearly Doubles
| Source: Spectrem Group
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - October 15, 2009) - In 2009, for the first time ever, mass affluent
investors have rejected full-service brokers as their sole top choice for
primary advisor.
Mass affluent households in the U.S. using full-service brokers as their
primary financial advisor fell to 22% in 2009, down from 30% the year
before, according to a new report, "Mass Affluent Investor 2009," released
today by Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com). Mass affluent households are
defined as having a net worth of $100,000 to $1 million, not including
primary residence (NIPR).
At the same time, mass affluent investors using independent financial
planners as their primary advisor rose to 22%, from 20% in 2008. Planners
and brokers now share the rank of No. 1 advisor to the mass affluent, which
had exclusively been held by brokers since Spectrem began tracking the data
in 2001.
"In a year marked by recession and significant challenges for financial
services firms, mass affluent investors have moved away from full-service
brokers and increased their use of independent financial planners as
primary financial advisors. For the very first time, brokers no longer rank
as the sole No. 1 choice among the important mass affluent group. Whether
linked to perceptions of financial institutions or a need to reassess their
investing, this shift coincides with a strong move toward conservative
investing by the mass affluent," said George H. Walper, Jr., president of
Spectrem Group.
Indeed, 41% of mass affluent investors in 2009 described themselves as
conservative in terms of investment risk, nearly double the 22% who
considered themselves conservative a year earlier. Those considering
themselves aggressive fell to 11% in 2009 from 29% a year ago.
The Spectrem report, "Mass Affluent Investor 2009," is based on the online
polling of 1,498 households with $100,000 to $1 million of net worth
(NIPR). Polling was conducted in July 2009. The data have a margin of
error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.