Market Insights: Meet the Wealthy Investor

3/9/2016

For the seventh consecutive year, America has more Millionaire and Ultra High Net Worth Households, according to our annual report on affluent investors. Who are these investors? How do they perceive their financial literacy? What is their net worth by age?

Spectrem’s Market Insights 2016 finds that the number of Millionaires in the United states reached 10.4 million in 2015, up from 10 million in 2014. There are 1,210,000 UHNW with a net worth between $5 million and $25 million, an increase of more than 40,000 households from last year. The average age of Millionaires and UHNW investors is 62 years-old.

There are roughly 30 million (29.8 million) households with a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million (not including primary residence), an increase over last year of approximately 600,000 Mass Affluent households. .

Market Insights finds that with greater wealth comes greater confidence in one’s financial knowledge. Just 11 percent of Mass Affluent investors consider themselves “very knowledgeable” about financial products and investments. In comparison, 22 percent of Millionaires consider themselves “very knowledgeable” as do 39 percent of UHNW investors. Similarly, Mass Affluent investors are more likely than their Millionaire and UHNW counterparts to consider themselves “not very knowledgeable” about financial products and investments, 28 percent vs. 17 percent of Millionaires and just 8 percent of UHNW investors.

The highest percentage of Mass Affluent investors is managers (14 percent), followed by educators (13 percent) and professionals, such as doctors or lawyers (12 percent). Eight percent report working in the information technology sector while 6 percent are in health care.

Millionaires are most likely to report being managers (16 percent) and professionals (15 percent). Thirteen percent are educators, while 10 percent work in information technology. Just six percent report working in health care.

The highest percentage of their UHNW counterparts are professionals (23 percent), followed by manager (15 percent), senior corporate executive (12 percent) and business owner/entrepreneur (8 percent). Six percent of UHNW investors are educators, our market insights study finds.

The net worth of these wealthy investors does not vary significantly within each wealth segment.

Among Mass Affluent investors, seniors report having the highest net worth, $543,678 and Millennials the least $398,714. Gen X Millionaire Millennials under the age of 35 reported the hight net worth at $2,484,350. Millionaire Gen Xers ages 36-44 report a net worth of $2,182,473. For those ages 45-54, net worth dips to $2.135,852. Millionaire Baby Boomers ages 55-64 report a net worth of $2,293,208, while Millionaire seniors ages 65 and older report the highest net worth at $2,313,129.

In Ultra High Net Worth households, those ages 43-54 report the highest net worth at $11,341,524. UHNW Baby Boomers identify their net worth at $9,423,280, while seniors put their net worth at $10,391.890.