Quote of the week

"[People] don’t expect retirement to begin with social security and sit on the back deck in a lounge chair for the rest of their lives. This group really wants to remain active."

Jeff Cimini, head of personal retirement at Merrill Lynch

Weekly Poll

View previous poll results

Ultra high net worth individuals are still in wealth preservation mode, according to the latest Spectrem Group quarterly survey, with more than half saying it is more important to protect principal than grow their investments.

However, willingness to take risk rises among those in the highest wealth segment, with around 53 per cent of respondents in the $15-$25 million segment saying they are willing to take “significant” risk in a portion of their portfolios to achieve a higher return, according to the Investment Attitudes & Behaviors survey.

The sample group

Breaking down the UHNW sample group, which was made up of 482 respondents with a net worth between $5 million and $25 million not including primary residence, shows that nearly two-thirds are retired and around one-quarter are still working, with the remainder being “semi-retired”.

Retirement does not appear to be a worry for this segment, with 90 per cent predicting they will be able to live comfortably through retirement.

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