Affluent Put Insurance Low On One-Stop List

By Staff Writer

August 13, 2006 at 04:00 PM

Share & Print

Wealthy consumers list "investment advice" first when asked about the services they want to get from their primary financial firm.

Researchers from Spectrem Group, Chicago, a firm that specializes in studying affluent consumers, present that finding in a summary of a recent survey of 500 U.S. residents who have at least $500,000 in investable assets.

The survey deals with consumers' attitudes about financial services companies that provide "one-stop shopping."

Participants said they used an average of 2.4 firms to handle their financial needs.

Many participants, especially those without professional primary financial advisors, said they were reluctant to "put all of their eggs in one basket," but about 34% of the participants already get all financial services from one company, and many of the other participants are interested in the idea of one-stop shopping, the Spectrem researchers report.

When the researchers asked participants, "Which of the following would be most important to receive from your primary financial firm?", 61% named investment advice and 52% named brokerage services.

"Legal services such as estate planning and trust and will preparation" ranked seventh, at 34%, and "insurance services such as life insurance and property-casualty insurance" came in eighth, at 25%.

"Charitable giving advice" ranked last, at 21%.

NOT FOR REPRINT