This report uses the Hearts & Wallets Inside Advice® Grid as a framework, to examine what consumers who choose different advice and service models want and need. We look at the quality of different types of advice offered across the industry and how advice categories impact customer satisfaction. Learn more

U.S. consumer trust in relationships with financial services firms is at the highest levels since tracking began. Despite this, most continue to reduce their share of wallet with their primary store through opening new accounts and establishing relationships with new firms. In fact, maintaining multiple saving and investing relationships is the predominant consumer behavior. This report examines how many financial relationships consumers now have, which segments seem to be more and less loyal, and what to consider when trying to acquire and retain clients in a time of greater choice and changing behavior. Read more

This report pulls from the new 2021 data on consumer attitudes towards saving, investing and advice. Investor sentiment is now at the highest level in a decade! Overall, people feel more positive about their finances despite concerns over inflation, the U.S. deficit and taxes. There is a renewed focus on investment goals, an increased interest in paying for professional financial advice and knowing which asset managers are managing their money. Read more

Firms across the industry are battling to capture more households and share of wallet. Many are introducing new service models designed to accommodate different asset levels and service demands, and customer outreach during COVID-19 reached a crescendo. But, surprisingly, despite all the efforts across the board, only a few of the largest stores are increasing reach. Unfortunately, consumer trust, intent to invest more and intent to recommend is down, especially with the $2M+ segment. Read more

New brokerage accounts are on the rise, more investors are trading stocks and cryptocurrencies, and environmental, social & governance (ESG) as an investment goal is growing in popularity among some very specific market segments. But, mutual fund and packaged product ownership across all wealth groups is on the decline, consumers struggle to identify their investment goals, and many are moving away from relying on financial professionals. This is especially concerning for lower asset Americans, who are at risk of missing out on creating wealth through safer, professionally managed products. This report looks at trends in online brokerage accounts and trading, the use of cryptocurrencies, investor goals & product ownership, and why getting back to basics may be good for everyone. Read more

This reports covers customer satisfaction ratings on all things important - what they want from the financial firms they do business with and their understanding of the fees they pay for products and services. Additionally, we report on the who ranks as a "Top Performer" firm and who is setting the competitive bar. This annual review of investor "wants & pricing" is one of our most highly rated research packages of the year - one that many consider to be an industry scorecard. Read more

The past year has many investors rethinking their plans. This report explores changes in target retirement ages; aspirations and reality for income replacement rates and the importance of advice; anticipated sources of retirement income for those approaching retirement compared to actual sources for those already retired; and a profile of the "Aspire to Retire by 55" group. Key Findings Include: - Even as more households want to “work full time as long as health permits,” target retirement dates are moving younger. - Ambitions for replacement rates have increased, but assets-to-income ratios show most people are still very unprepared for the end of full-time work. - Future retirees anticipate combining more sources of income than current retirees. The more income sources consumers have, the more value they see in paying for advice. - More households report participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. More generous matches increase overall household saving rate, especially at lower income levels. Saving into employer plans is up. - There are about 11M households in the “Aspire to Retire by 55” design target. Well positioned in some ways, these households need help to achieve this goal. Read more

Examine pricing trends and the importance of customer wants for firms and financial professionals. In this report, U.S. households rate their top two financial services providers on 27 attributes for 5 key service dimensions and 3 pricing measurements. Satisfaction ratings include customer ratings for the top 24 providers nationally. Top Performer firms have ratings from their customers on top wants distinctly higher than customer ratings of other firms. Read more

This report analyzes U.S. household asset allocation, product types, online brokerage and awareness of asset managers. Learn about the dynamics between high cash and investor confusion. The last third of the report taps into 30 metrics that track asset managers to reveal consumer-reported awareness of shareholder awareness and top performer asset managers. Read more

This report provides actionable insights and greater visibility into transaction dynamics both at origin and destination for a full picture of opportunities and potential threats. Transactions covered include new deposits in new accounts, transfers, rollovers and cashouts from employer plans. Life events and the factors motivating money movement are analyzed. Read more

Trends covered in this report include changes in the age of stopping work, working part-time, the role of real estate as both a big spending type and an asset. The importance of human capital and blending income sources comes to life in a pre/post-retirement spending analysis, metrics on changes in consumer saving behaviors, and discussion of shortcomings of traditional retirement preparedness metrics. Read more

This report covers trends in consumer relationships with their saving and investing "stores," or where they "buy" investing and advice. Data include number of relationships, reach and asset share of specific stores, trust, intent to recommend and intent to invest more, overall by store. Read more

Nearly 50% of US households are interested in or use use fractional shares, approximately 25% use crypto, and 20% use securities-based lines of credit. What some would consider riskier investment products are on the rise -- especially with the younger generations. This report explores consumer trends related to these emerging products. Read more

There is power to planning - planners save and invest more, find fewer financial tasks challenging, have more diversified and appropriately allocated portfolios, and are more confident in their financial situation. This report looks at who plans by generation, lifestage, wealth group and marital status. It also looks at what inspires a consumer to plan and the most common resources used. Read more

Approximately 12 million households in America use robo advisors. Their popularity as is on the rise, and firms across the industry are working hard to win customers and capture share of wallet. This report examines trial to conversion and which offerings are growing fastest. Beyond the competitive landscape, the report also explores who is using robos, how much they are investing, and investor vs. non-investor profiles. Read more

COVID-19 has resulted in increased financial actions by consumers. Savings is on the top of the list for many with one in 5 households creating an emergency fund for the first time. This report looks at who is taking action, what they are doing, and the goals for the various segments of savers. Here are a few of the take-aways: Households whose work was affected by the COVID-19 crisis were more likely to have taken actions than households with no work disruption. Gen-X, Millennials and the New Generation have been much more active with financial responses to COVID-19 than the Silents and Boomers. We have classified savers into five segments beyond the traditional age-based categories that combine behavior, attitudes and household finances. Among the findings, "Big Savers" are the most valuable customers today, but "Aspiring Savers - High Potential" are looking to make changes in their financial lives and could be valuable over the long haul. Investment firms have the greatest reach with the Big Savers and banks have it with the Aspiring Savers - High Potential. Read more

Fintech and robo-advisor solutions are everywhere. They have dramatically increased their awareness and trial, but as currently structured, they are not capturing the mass-market. Also, digital advice is not just for early adopters as more Americans are seeking resources that enable more control. The thousands of competitors and new entrants, combined with different user profiles, make it difficult to evaluate where the opportunities lie. This report provides the latest information and data on how investors are blending technology and live advice solutions, where the money is going for new entrants and consumer needs that will likely present future opportunities in fintech. Read more

This report is exclusively for Trends Subscribers. It covers consumer trust, pricing and competitive trends by category on Inside Advice^® Grid, the framework for classifying advice and guidance experiences developed through Inside Advice^® Benchmarking, the industry's most comprehensive benchmarking of advice and guidance experiences, and extensive consumer testing. Availability for license by Selected Report subscribers is expected sometime in H1 2020. Learn more

This report explores the drivers of share of wallet (SOW). Learn which customers are most likely to invest more, and how being the main source of retirement advice can influence their decision. Also, we cover why SOW is so important competitively and who is leading the race. Read more

This report examines key drivers of investor trust 2019, highlighting opportunities for firms to increase low trust and further enhance existing trust. This trust roadmap is build upon a regression analysis that assessed over 90 variables as possible influencers of trust in specific saving, investing and advice relationships. Read more

This report presents findings from the latest cycle of Inside Advice® Benchmarking. It includes the popular Top 10 Trends in advice and guidance, a resource for many senior management discussions with key insights, trends and best practices on financial wellness, personalization, pricing and other findings. This report presents aggregated benchmarks by service level and selected analysis of workplace vs. retail. Read more