Invest like a millionaire: Top strategies and concerns of the wealthy
While the stock market is in the late stages of an extended bull run, high net worth individuals still have faith in the performance of U.S. assets over the near-term.
Fidelity Investments released its 10th annual Millionaire Outlook Study, which showed how high net worth investors are diversified across their investment portfolios. The largest proportion of millionaires reported having invested in individual domestic stocks, at 68 percent. That was closely followed by domestic mutual funds, at 66 percent.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said they held exchange-traded funds, while 31 percent reported investing in individual domestic bonds. The smallest number, 30 percent, said they were investing in international mutual funds.
The average millionaire had an income in excess of $200,000, a retirement account with assets of about $750,000 and investable assets worth $1.75 million.
However, while millionaires expressed positivity about the current financial picture, they also expressed apprehension about the future.
“We’re in the midst of the longest bull market in history, which means that most investors have seen upside in their portfolios for almost 10 years, but they’re beginning to think about how to prepare for a future that may have some more bumps,” David Canter, head of the registered investment advisor segment at Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions, said in a statement.
In addition to concerns over future financial performances, high net worth individuals disclosed apprehension about the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – signed into law by President Trump at the end of last year. More than half of respondents said they were willing to pay financial advisers more for help navigating changes to the tax code, and reducing their tax burdens.
Meanwhile, the president said over the weekend that the administration was working on another “major” middle-class focused tax cut, to be detailed around the beginning of next month. There is doubt whether any action will be taken to advance any such legislation over the near-term, as Congress remains in recess through the midterm elections.
As a snapshot of the makeup of the country’s millionaires, Fidelity found that 65 percent were male and 73 percent were either married or partnered.