Hearts & Wallets

Generations X & Y Won’t Be DIY Forever:

HWteam — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:16:57 +0000

Smart industry executives are excited about Gen Y and younger Gen X investors. Comfortable with technology, they use lots of sources of financial information and advice: workplace providers, online brokerages, media sources, friends and family, and, sometimes, professional advisors. However, they currently describe themselves as self-directed. This has always been true of the young, who

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Till Death or Retirement Do Us Part

HWteam — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:58:33 +0000

(Hingham, MA) – Love isn’t all you need when it comes to finances and planning for the happily-ever-after of retirement. Less than 40 percent of couples share a common vision of retirement, according to retirement and savings trends research firm Hearts & Wallets. Hearts & Wallets research[1] finds only 38 percent of couples engage in

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DCIO Market Strong & Growing, to Top $3 Trillion by 2017

HWteam — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:20:39 +0000

(Hingham, MA) – Growth of the defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) market continues to outpace that of the DC plan market overall. Today, 46% of DC assets are investment-only versus just 36% a decade ago. Hearts & Wallets projects the share of IO managers will reach 49% in 2017. This is just one finding from Hearts

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What Middle-aged Investors Want: Control and Financial Independence

HWteam — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:17:18 +0000

(Hingham, MA) – Middle-aged Americans seek financial independence and control rather than a traditional retirement, according to new research by leading retirement and savings research firm Hearts & Wallets. “Middle-aged investors, in the Accumulators life-stage, have different reasons to save for their golden years than what the financial services industry usually promotes,” Chris Brown, Hearts

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Sway Research’s – The State of DCIO Distribution: 2013

HWteam — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:52:37 +0000

The DCIO market is producing strong flows for asset managers, yet the list of challenges—more competition, 0/0 pricing, expanding share of flows into Target-dates, properly structuring staff compensation, sales tracking, and so on—keeps on growing. DCIO managers need marketplace intelligence and no researcher knows this market better than us. Based on in-depth surveys of 29

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Reaching Accumulators in an Age of Anxiety:

HWteam — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:38:10 +0000

This Hearts & Wallets Explore report lays out ideas for working with mass affluent Accumulators (age 40-60, $100k to approximately $1M) drawn from focus groups held in Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston in September 2012. Older Generation X and younger Boomers have assets to invest, but are seeking new blends of products and services. All

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Study Finds More Investors Self-Directed; Full-Service Firm Base Eroding Faster

HWteam — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:49:17 +0000

(Hingham, MA) – The shift toward “do-it-yourself” investing is picking up more momentum as a greater number of consumers eschew financial professionals, with full-services advisor platforms showing significant loss of share, according to a new study by retirement and savings research firm Hearts & Wallets. “Fewer individuals are turning to financial professionals for advice,” Laura

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Who’s the Best Target Market for Financial Advisors? Hint: It’s NOT Pre-Retirees

HWteam — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:24:23 +0000

(Hingham, MA) – Financial services firms and advisors looking for business opportunities should consider affluent, high-net wealth younger investors, or Accumulators*, instead of the traditional bread-and-butter “pre-retiree” market, according to the latest study by retirement and savings research firm Hearts & Wallets. “Accumulators are looking for sound financial advice but they are held back from

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Study: Affluent Americans feel cautiously optimistic

HWeditor — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:01:10 +0000

USA Today Affluent Americans have realized that economic uncertainty is the new normal. But they are feeling more hopeful as they take greater control of their financial lives. Although more than half of wealthy Americans, 54%, are still worried about being able to meet their financial goals, 94% of them think that they are better

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Banks’ record-low interest rates frustrate nation’s savers

HWeditor — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:43:12 +0000

The Boston Globe Neil Silverman, a Framingham engineer, diligently saved for decades, accumulating a nest egg worth more than $1 million. But when Silverman reached retirement age, he encountered an unexpected hurdle: interest rates so low that his savings are generating little income. Even $1 million in the bank at 1 percent interest yields just

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