Phoenix also found that wealthy investors are seeking aggressive portfolio growth by diversifying into specialized financial products such as derivatives and private equity funds. “They want to put their money in motion,” says David Thompson, vice president of the Affluent Practice group at Phoenix. “And our survey bears this out. They are very active, very involved.”

Among the sample of 400 households, each with $5 million or more in investable assets, 45 percent of the respondents have vested stock options, 33 percent hold unvested options and 31 percent invest in venture capital and private equity. This community of investors is “really reaching out to find growth engines,” says Thompson, who admitted that he was surprised by the survey results. Typically, factors such as wealth preservation and estate management take priority over growth. Moreover, the survey shows that 48 percent of these households are actively engaged in the day-to-day management of their investments, debunking the perception that wealthy individuals typically maintain a hands-off policy when it comes to incremental changes in their portfolio, Thompson adds. Only 21 percent of respondents say they do not spend as much time as they should managing their finances.

More than three-quarters of the survey respondents have a primary investment advisor, typically a brokerage firm or independent professional. Investors reported that their most important criterion for remaining loyal to a primary financial advisor is investment returns. For lower-income households, loyalty is typically based on factors that Thompson refers to as “softer measurements,” such as the nature of the relationship and the quality of service.

“This is the first time we’ve seen such a dichotomy between the two groups,” Thompson adds. He attributes wealthy investors’ emphasis on investment returns to a need for greater accountability when handling a portfolio structured for aggressive growth. Especially fascinating to Thompson is that this observation was made during a relatively strong market. “Back in the bear market of 2001, investment performance was number one for everybody. But now I’d expect things to be different.”