HNWs' Needs Change as They Get Wealthier: Nationwide

Both groups of affluent investors look for criteria in common when choosing a financial advisor. Advisor experience is a big one (50% HNW and 38% UHNW), followed by personalized advice for a holistic financial picture (31% HNW and 20% UHNW) and a fiduciary standard that puts clients' best interest first (29% HNW and 24% UHNW).

And these more affluent investors are more likely to believe a single federal fiduciary standard should prevail across the financial industry (74% HNW and 80% UHNW, compared with 68% of investors overall). In addition, the study indicates that tech is important to the UHNW, who are more likely to cite increased use of social media (18%), mobile technology (16%) and robo advisors (12%) as factors for choosing an advisor.

And considering that the HNW and UHNW are only a tad more optimistic (the former, at 65%) or a tad less optimistic (the latter, at 58%) than investors overall (62%), it stands to reason that protecting assets is a big factor for all investors, particularly for the HNW.

In fact, RIAs and fee-based advisors focused on tax planning and tax-efficient investing could not only help build more wealth for more affluent clients, they could be in line themselves for more growth.