Sanguinity seems to be slowly returning to wealthy investors, according to a
recent survey by Phoenix Marketing International, a research group for financial
firms. Forty-four percent of the affluent investors the firm polled last year
plan to increase their investing activity in the near future, while only one in
10 expects the equity markets to decline.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.
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