Spectrem Group

Ancestry and Investing

Where one’s family came from can have a significant impact on an individual. Favorite meals, appearance, mannerisms, and habits can all have origins in where their family originated from. When someone’s family has been in the United States for many generations this may be less noticeable than for someone who is first generation. Do family origins impact other components of an individual’s life? Will investor’s risk tolerance or investment choices be impacted by their family’s nationality?

Top Factors Influencing Financial Decisions

Investors have an immense number of factors that could influence how they make decisions and look at their financial life. Sometimes the influences are easy to see and understand, while others are more subtle and less noticeable. It is challenging for investors to not only reconcile these influences, but also to identify them. Knowing why you are making a decision can often be just as important as the decision itself.

Investors More Involved in Portfolio Management

The DJIA has plummeted by over 6,000 points in the past year, with huge swings throughout the process, causing concern amongst even the wealthiest of investors. The market decline has caused many investors to reevaluate their investments and their financial plans. Investors are needing to make choices regarding what they will do as a result of the market volatility, and how concerned they should be regarding this issue.

Inflation Fears Among UHNW Investors

Increased fuel costs, grocery bills, clothing, and more are all impacting investors at varying levels. Even the wealthiest of investors are not immune to these price increases and other impacts of inflation. Inflation in the most simplistic terms is an increase in the cost of goods and services. This deteriorates purchasing power for every investor. Often this happens in a gradual manner over the course of many years, however inflation has been much higher than normal in 2022.

Impact of Recession on Advisor Relationships

A recession is typically determined as the economy having two consecutive down quarters. However, it isn’t as cut and dried as that because everything regarding economic information is looked at in arrears. This makes it so often a recession is not declared until months after the recession has occurred. This declaration comes from the National Bureau of Economic Research, and they look at many different data points, not just stock market movements. Many investors feel we are in a recession, or at least a significant stock market downturn. How are investors responding to this market decline with regard to their relationship with their financial advisor?

How Many Advisors Are Enough?

A good financial advisor can provide financial peace of mind, guidance in decision-making, and critically needed education. One advisory relationship can provide everything an investor needs, while other individuals need multiple advisors in order to meet all their needs. Just how many advisors are enough? Is there an ideal number of advisors?

Why Investors Fire Advisors

As with a marriage, no one ever enters into a relationship with an advisor with the expectation that they will leave the advisor for someone else, or to manage their investments on their own. Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes necessary to stop working with an advisor and begin working with a different advisor, or to even start managing assets without help. This doesn’t happen too often, and the reasons for it occurring vary.

Wealthy Investors Are Optimistic

The stock market and economy has been a roller coaster ride throughout 2022. The stock market has had huge ups and downs, and investors are experiencing increased inflation, increased fuel costs, and a struggling economy. Logic would think that this would be enough to make investors pessimistic about their financial future, yet many investors are not.

Where Financial Education Lacks

Financial literacy is a hot topic among financial service providers. Every financial website has different levels of financial education and provides different types of education. These educational resources are helpful for investors to become more financially literate, but are they meeting all of the educational needs investors have regarding financial topics?

Top Digital Tools for Millionaires

Millionaires utilize digital tools for information and communication in every aspect of their lives. The pandemic changed the minds of many of those investors who were previously hesitant to fully utilize digital technology to communicate with family and friends. There are a wide variety of digital tools that are available to investors, although not all of them carry the same importance among Millionaires.

Essentials of Estate Planning

No one wants to discuss the dreaded topic of their own death. Despite the inevitability of death, it is something that most people will go to great lengths to avoid talking about it. Usually, the topic is brought up by an attorney, financial advisor, or a loved one. There are many steps in the process of legacy and estate planning, some of which require a professional. How prepared are investors for their end-of-life and estate planning needs? Unfortunately, many investors are not as prepared as they need to be, so it is important to accomplish the essential components of legacy planning.

Do Investors Read Print Media?

Many people feel that print media is dying, especially with the increase in internet usage and availability of online versions of print media. Despite the obvious decline in this source of information, investors are still using this media platform to access investment information and news.

Why Investors Fire Advisors

Wealthy Investors Are Optimistic

Where Financial Education Lacks

Top Digital Tools for Millionaires

Essentials of Estate Planning

Do Investors Read Print Media?

Who Invests in Crypto?

Cryptocurrencies have been volatile recently, leading many to question the future of this relatively new, but increasingly popular, investment type. Are cryptocurrencies merely a trend or an important component of the portfolios of affluent investors?

Who Qualifies for Wealth Management?

The definition of wealth management has changed over the past several years, as has the number of investors who feel they are eligible for wealth management. Wealth management has previously been reserved for only ultra wealthy households, which is not the case any longer. What types of investors feel wealth management is suitable for themselves? Who feels they qualify for wealth management?

Millionaire Actions in Volatile Markets

The stock market has been extremely volatile in 2022, taking a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs resulting in losses over 15 percent. While in theory most investors understand that the stock market has ups and downs, it is challenging to keep that in mind during the “down” times. Do higher levels of wealth make an investor immune to the concerns of the volatile stock market? Are investors making any changes to their investments because of the volatility?

Inflation and Millionaires

Inflation is over eight percent right now, the highest levels since the early 1980s. This is impacting pricing and expenses for investors all over the country, and at every level of wealth. Investors are all contemplating how long the current rate of inflation will last, what the causes are, and what actions, if any, they need to take because of these high levels of inflation.

Including Beneficiaries in Estate Planning

Discussions regarding end-of-life and asset distributions are challenging for most investors. Facing one’s own mortality is difficult, yet a necessary part of proper estate planning. Estate distributions are notorious for causing conflict among family members, and without proper planning can result in a significant loss of estate value. Families play a significant role in estate planning and distributions.

Choosing an Advisor

The decision to hire a financial advisor is one that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Many factors should be considered, and the most important traits are dependent upon each investor. Weighing various factors when considering hiring an advisor is critical to ensure that investors hire the right advisor. Many of the most important factors are the same regardless of investor segment, however there are some important distinctions among investors in what variables are the most important when choosing and retaining a financial advisor.

Student Loans for Generation Z

College costs and student loans have been a highly debated topic in the past several years, with the conversation becoming heightened in the past few months. In late April 2022 there has been talk of forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt through executive order. This has been met with both praise and criticism. The newest generation facing the cost of higher education has some specific opinions about the concept of the government paying off student loans.

The Permanence of the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has been around for over two years, wreaking havoc in many areas of life. This pandemic, masking, and shutdowns have been challenging for everyone, regardless of what personal beliefs one has regarding the topic. Some areas of the country have handled the situation very cautiously, while others began operating close to normally quite some time ago. Some individuals feel that we need to move on and get back to normal, leaving Covid-19 and the pandemic in our rear-view mirror, while others feel that the pandemic will be an ongoing issue for many years.

How Generation Z Makes Career Decisions

Generation Z currently makes up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, with ages that range from 9 years old to 25-26 years old. These individuals are entering the workforce and changing the landscape of what is expected from employers. Generation Z investors have different priorities and are making their career decisions differently than generations before them.

Is Wealth Management Too Expensive for Investors?

One of the reasons many investors never find an advisor or seek wealth management is because they believe that wealth management is too expensive for the services they need. In fact, according to research conducted by Spectrem Group with investors with $100,000 to $25 million of net worth (not including the value of their primary residence), a quarter of investors believe that wealth management is too expensive. Forty percent of investors are somewhat neutral regarding this idea, and just over a third of investors are open to engaging in wealth management.

Is Fighting Rising Fuel Costs Futile?

Investors everywhere are feeling the pain of rising gasoline costs. Seemingly every day the prices at the pump are changing dramatically, giving investors whiplash at how quickly prices are adjusting. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gasoline prices rose 38 percent from February 2021 to February 2022. Investors all over the country are talking about rising costs of gasoline, and everyone has a different strategy they feel the country should take regarding this topic.

Facebook Loses The Top Spot

For many years Facebook has been the most commonly used social media platform among investors. Various social media platforms have come and gone, with only a few having as much staying power as Facebook. New platforms are introduced regularly, and some have started gaining traction, especially among younger investors.

Wealthy Women and Investing

It is no secret that men and women think differently. There is an entire industry dedicated to helping understand how these differences impact decision-making, relationships, and daily life. It is not surprising that men and women approach their financial lives and their investments differently as well. Understanding these differences can help many couples navigate conflicting attitudes towards their financial lives.

War in Ukraine Hits Home

The conflict in Ukraine has been going on since mid-February and does not show any signs of stopping in the near future. Individuals across the globe are concerned at varying levels regarding this conflict, and the potential further issues this can cause. There is access to information and news regarding this conflict on every platform: television, online, social media, and print.

Rising Gasoline Prices Fueling Investor Concerns

It is impossible to not be aware of the significant increases in fuel prices in the United States. Some areas of the country have been more impacted than others regarding the rising cost of fuel, but the increase is felt everywhere. According to AAA the cost for gasoline has increased 40 percent in 2022, making it an issue that wealthy investors must address in their lives. Investors also feel that certain things should happen to mitigate the rising cost of fuel.

Is the Pandemic Still a Problem?

Covid-19 impacted the lives of individuals across the globe. Regardless of which side of the debate you were on regarding masking and vaccinations, there has been a significant change in many areas of individual’s lives throughout the pandemic and ongoing. Initially it was thought that these changes would be temporary, and that life would be able to go back to “normal”. In some cases that was true, with mask mandates largely an issue of the past in most areas of the country. How do wealthy investors feel about the pandemic now, and are there issues regarding the pandemic that continue to impact their decision-making?

Inflation Tops Concerns for Investors

The United States has experienced more than 20 years of low inflation levels, with the highest rate being just over five percent in 1990. Baby Boomers and WWII investors remember this time, as well as the double-digit interest rates. Inflation is currently over eight percent, raising concerns for investors of all ages. While investors are worried about rising costs, are they doing anything about it?

Are Investors Crazy for Crypto?

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining popularity for over a decade, with the current size of the cryptocurrency market being over 1.5 billion dollars. This investment option has been most closely followed by younger investors, who are often the first to adapt to new technology, products, or investment options. Despite how large the cryptocurrency industry is, are wealthy individuals investing in crypto, or are they even familiar with this investment option?