Advice & Technology 2026: Increasing Sources, Online Activities and the Rise of General Contracting examines consumer decision-making processes, sources of advice and use of technology.

Reliance and frequency of consultation for sources of advice and information are analyzed in addition to how a more sophisticated model of buying behaviors/preferences reveal opportunities for advice beyond those visible in traditional intermediary vs. direct models. The report also examines 13 online financial information and advice activities and competitive insights for the top 25 investing stores.

Learn more

Planning for Financial Goals: The Power of Planning to Improve Outcomes, Key Components & Current Competitive Landscape analyzes how households work toward financial goals and develop plans, by working alone, with software or in conjunction with stores.

This report examines how documentation improves outcomes, inspirations for planning, and what components plans contain, measuring both current and future interest, including competitive analysis of planning activities for the top 25 investing stores.

Learn more

The Wants & Pricing module of the Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database examines what households (HHs) want from their financial stores, satisfaction and understanding of pricing. This report presents importance of wants and satisfaction gaps nationally and by segment. By store, this report analyzes customer satisfaction, perception of value and pricing mechanisms, amounts and understanding of how stores earn money.

Learn more

This report covers the Money Movement module of the Investor Quantitative^™(IQ^™) Database and references demographics and select fields on store buying patterns from other modules. Money movement is defined as significant changes households (HHs) have made, or are considering, to how they allocate their investable assets across financial stores either through rollovers, transfers of assets (TOAs), or trial of new stores through new deposits. The goal of this module is to expand visibility into overall industry volume, motivating factors, decision timing and future consideration.

Learn more

This annual report examines firms where consumers have saving and investing accounts, which H&W refers to as stores, as well as lending and insurance accounts at these institutions. The Stores & Success Metrics module of the Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database covers industry-level buying patterns, including reach into U.S. households for the top 50+ stores. Account types, primacy, customer-reported experience categories, relationship length, share of wallet, asset share, intent to invest more, likelihood to recommend, Hearts & Wallets loyalty score and trust are presented for top stores. Learn more

This annual report examines competitive consumer buying behaviors in saving and investing products, online brokerage and leading fund families. The Investment Products & Asset Managers module of the Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database covers portfolio allocation by product and asset class, activity in ETFs/stock trades, option trades, margin lending and crypto as well as competitive metrics for leading asset managers.

Learn more

This annual report examines the consumer beliefs and behaviors that drive competitive buying patterns. The Attitudes & Sentiment module of the Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database covers sentiment, goals, concerns, and attitudes towards saving and spending, family and legacy, employment and retirement, and investment product, banking and insurance solutions.

Learn more

This Explore Qualitative™ (EQ™) Exercise examines how mid-life mass affluent consumers are reacting to tariffs and recent market volatility. The Risk Tolerance Segmentation groups these consumers into three distinct segments with respect to comfort levels “taking risks with your investments by accepting volatility in the hope of getting a higher return.” The exercise explores changes in frequency of interactions with investment providers, saving more/paying down debt as well as changes to investments by asset class, including increased or decreased interest in investments outside the U.S.

Learn more

This Explore Qualitative™ (EQ™) Concept Test analyzes a new, potentially disruptive solution that packages a panoply of banking and investing features with perks and benefits, subsidized by advertising data. This non- branded product modeled after Robinhood Gold gauges receptivity, recognition and feature likes/dislikes. The concept warrants watching for at least 4 reasons.

Learn more

This segment profile report provides an understanding of the market size, attitudes, wants and competitive buying patterns of U.S. households with $5M-<$10M investable assets, drawing from fields within the Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database and Portrait™ market sizing to identify leaders in product and distribution. This report also illuminates important pricing insights that may influence future success within this important market niche.

Learn more

This annual market sizing report provides the foundation for sizing U.S. retail investors. Portrait incorporates detailed analysis of government data to establish aggregate market size. First an aggregate view of household (HH) assets is established, which is then divided into a variety of segments for greater insights. Hearts & Wallets Investor Quantitative™ (IQ™) Database provides timely, detailed data on asset distribution, assets by account type, behaviors and other data required to size business opportunities and support strategic decision-making. Portrait tracks increasing HH wealth across age and asset levels, examines investable asset breakdowns by taxable and retirement accounts, and tracks the four major components of HH wealth.

This year, the report also highlights the latest data from the IQ™ insight module, Household Finance, including employment, portfolio allocation, saving rate and saving allocation.

Learn more

This report provides a comprehensive picture of needs and opportunities in financial caregiving. Featured data fields from the IQ™ Database include current, past and future expected caregiving responsibilities, likelihood to purchase support for certain financial caregiving tasks, and demographics on households (HHs) receptive to support. Other IQ™ fields include the concern of “ability of loved ones to manage their finances as they age,” attitudes on the responsibility of adult children to provide financial care for their aging parents and how aging parents feel about this. Also covered are difficulty with financial caregiving tasks and advice gaps. The report highlights the most recent data from the Retirement & Funding (R&F) module of IQ™ Database, including work/life vision, retirement ages and income sources (actual and anticipated), and other related fields to show how the increasing complexity of household retirement finance is contributing to rising demand for financial caregiving solutions.

Learn more

This ground-breaking report, exclusively available for Hearts & Wallets Trends™ subscribers, analyzes customer-reported transactions to reveal competitive dynamics in money movement.

• Compare transaction and dollar volumes for rollover, transfers of assets ex-rollover and new accounts funded by new deposits, a form of money movement visible only to recipient firms. 
  
• Understand current transaction sizes, competitive sources/destinations, relationship status (trial or consolidation) and motivating factors for transactions completed/under consideration.
  
• Craft strategies and tactics to attract and retain flows for your firm’s business units and consumer targets.
  

Learn more

This report tracks how U.S. households are using advice and technology for saving and investing advice and information. Some highlights include:

• Preference for self direction in investment decisions is at the lowest level since tracking began, with preference for “general contracting” -- at a peak.
• Consumers cut back on sources of information and advice, favoring themselves and advisors over other sources, including online and employers.
• In 2024, for the first time, mobile surpassed computers as the device of choice for online information and advice activities.
• Nationally, 8 in 10 households (79%) have taken a saving/investing action in the past year, with the most popular being saving more and purchasing insurance.

Learn more

This report is our annual review of what customers want from the stores they do business with, how satisfied they are with these stores, and evolving trends in pricing. Wants and Pricing is one of our most highly anticipated reports of the year, and includes the 2023 "Top Performer" firms — those that set the bar across key competitive metrics.
A few highlights from this year include:

• Long-term nationally, the top-growing wants are “has good mobile apps,” internet access, specialized expertise, timely/tactical investment ideas, and “is innovative.”
• Proactivity in investment ideas, investment selection and personal financial advice are attributes that are highly important to HHs but earn lower levels of satisfaction.
• Ameriprise, Edward Jones, LPL, Morgan Stanley, WFA, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Merrill, T. Rowe Price, USAA and Vanguard are among the firms that have earned "Top Performer" designations in one or more customer wants.
• As fee sensitivity rises nationally, use of flat fees is increasing and many stores grapple with significant portions of customers who do not know how they pay for their relationships.

Learn more

State of Advice & Guidance 2025: Improving Outcomes and Using Experience Categories to See Opportunities for Innovation covers the wealthtech competitive landscape. Innovation trends emerge through an examination of select fields from H&W’s Inside Advice® Database, which tracks over 650 metrics on nearly 200 current experiences.

Enhance the competitive position of your advice and guidance experiences* by understanding how results reveal capabilities and positioning. Controlled tests of in-market experiences using standardized customer hypotheticals deliver more insights than less detailed methodologies.

*H&W uses the term ”advice” to mean a suggestion about a possible action, encompassing both “advice” and “guidance” in technical terms.

Learn more

This report features special year-end data and analysis to help you set and refine corporate strategy for 2025.  It includes "need to know" competitive performance metrics with store & asset manager rankings featured in our corporate scorecards. 

Select Report Takeaways:

• U.S. households (HHs) are spreading their wallets across fewer stores. Consolidation was strongest in upper-asset HHs.
• Vertically integrated leaders Fidelity and JPMorgan Chase serve more households HHs with their investment products and services than other firms. 
• As HHs consolidate relationships, Bank of America Merrill narrowly holds on to #1 for HH penetration, but is losing ground to #2 Fidelity and #3 JPMorgan Chase.
• Trust and intent to invest more are leading indicators of future flows. Fidelity, Edward Jones, LPL and Vanguard earn high marks from customers on multiple loyalty metrics. 

Learn more

Attitudes & Sentiments 2024 is an annual look at U.S. household attitudes and behaviors relating to investing, and how goals and concerns have evolved in the past year.

Overall, households are feeling more optimistic about their finances, fueled by strong market performance. However, concerns over the US political environment and data security are very real and jump to the top of the list.  Concern over inflation remains high and continues to grow.  Also, consumers are increasingly seeing value in paying for financial advice, and interest in banking and investing at the same firm is one the rise.  Emerging themes include intergenerational finance and artificial intelligence (AI).

Learn more

This year’s Investment Products & Asset Managers report looks at the continued growth of brokerage accounts in U.S. households, and how margin lending and option trading serve as revenue sources now that stock and ETF trades are free. We also examine household asset allocation in light of how managed products are playing a bigger role for many investors. Additionally, we explore which investment managers are leading the industry given the challenges and opportunities they face.

Learn more

This Explore Qualitative™ report looks at how consumers combine different financial advice resources in managing their money. Most often a combination of sources and types are used. As observed in Hearts & Wallets’ 2024 focus groups, only about 1 in 5 “fully advised” participants rely on a single advisor. Hear from customers why it is important to categorize advice experiences, and set expectation on what different advice experiences deliver and how they are priced. 

Learn more

This qualitative report is sourced from our June 2024 focus group series. We observed consumer reactions to "In-Plan Retirement Income Solutions," which are target date retirement funds in employer-sponsored plans that have an option to allocate up to 30% of the account balance to an annuity starting at age 55, providing a stream of lifetime income at retirement.

Learn more

This report explores which financial tasks consumers find difficult, what they are most likely to seek advice on, and where the biggest advice gaps are. For example, 17% of households today find estate planning difficult but do not seek help. Advice gaps such as this represent an opportunity to provide help on a topic for consumers who find it difficult.

Key Findings include:

• Tasks are most difficult for the young. However, difficulty eases with age and assets. Nationally, the #1 most difficult task is “choosing appropriate investments."
  
• Tasks are not difficult in isolation. Most (68%) households who find one task very difficult also find 3+ tasks very difficult. Clustering of difficulties increases with assets.
  
• Seeking help is up, frequently for multiple tasks. The most avid advice-seekers use combinations of financial professionals and online resources that vary by generation.
  
• The biggest advice gaps in dollars are estate planning, “handling market volatility emotionally,” Roth conversion, buy/sell specific securities, balance goals and RMDs.
  
• Being prepared to help on multiple tasks yields a loyalty premium.

Learn more

The 2024 Portrait™ of U.S. Household Wealth reports on the current breakdown of household wealth in America. This report is updated annually. As the number of HHs in America climb and investable assets approach $78T, understanding who controls this wealth increases in importance as you refine strategies and target markets. Use this report to size markets, identify target audiences, understand how real estate equity plays a significant role in total wealth, and the importance of providing advice.

Learn more

This report is an annual look at consumer relationships with stores - who is on the leader board for household penetration, share of wallet, share of assets, and trust. The bottom line - competition for assets continues to intensify. The average number of consumer relationships with firms is 2.7 nationally, and 3.9 for $1M+ households. Additionally, the average share of wallet (SOW) has fallen to a new low of 37%, down from 45% in 2020. 

The trick to maintaining relevancy in the mind of the consumer is to be their "primary store", which is typically driven by being their main source of retirement advice. Customers who receive both advice and service are more likely to use those stores as main source of retirement advice and grant them higher share of wallet. Read this report to see how your firm competes on all these important measures and learn how you can work to be your customers primary store and main source of retirement advice.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This fusion report draws from all three Hearts & Wallets' databases and is one of the most comprehensive looks at retirement that Hearts & Wallets has assembled. This is a must read for those who are focused on retirement planning & advice, household finance/wellness, and retirement income. Topics explored include: surprises in retirement, the increasing number of income sources in retirement, expectations vs. reality in retirement and the biggest disconnects, addressing real estate equity and living arrangements in retirement advice, and "chunk or nothing" vs. steady distributions.

Learn more

This report is our annual review of what customers want from the stores they do business with, how satisfied they are with these stores, and evolving trends in pricing. Wants and Pricing is one of our most highly anticipated reports of the year, and includes the 2023 "Top Performer" firms — those that set the bar across key competitive metrics.
Here are a few highlights:

• Clear and understandable fees is the top want for the mass-market, while being unbiased and putting clients' interests first is the top want for the $3M+ households
• Personal financial advice has become more important over time while satisfaction has remained flat, indicating a possible area for competitive differentiation
• Ameriprise, Edward Jones, Merrill, Morgan Stanley and USAA achieved one or more Hearts & Wallets Top Performer designations in 2023
• Pricing remains a problematic area with many customers not knowing how they pay for saving and investing, especially in workplace models. Flat fees are reportedly becoming more common.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. Our New Entrants & Offerings report looks at the rise of "Fintech" solutions from industry newcomers as well as established firms. Capabilities are extending beyond investing to include savings, crypto and lending. Awareness of new entrants and offerings from traditional firms is high and growing, with nearly 80% of U.S. households aware of at least one. Although innovative capabilities are grabbing investor attention and garnering higher awareness, conversion rates are higher with solutions and firms that have scale.

Highlighted findings:

• 1 in 4 U.S. households (25%) has put money toward new entrants/offerings, up from 6% in 2015.
• Robinhood, Chime, SoFi and Acorns lead in national awareness at 30-40%.
• Today, new entrants with scale are emphasizing new capabilities, especially “cash”/saving.
• With 35% of U.S. households interested in trial, many new entrant/offerings are earning high consideration levels.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. The symbiotic dynamics between stores and the products the stores sell has always been a topic of discussion -  who holds the power, and does the store or the product ultimately drive consumer purchase decisions. This qualitative report looks at this topic closely through customer verbatims in order to build a better understanding of what influences consumer purchase behavior. Select key findings include:

• Consumers buy products from stores
• Consumers see stores as more important and differentiation should happen at the store level
• The investment product is "going to get me the money I need"

Learn more

Attitudes & Sentiments 2023 features a first look at our 2023 Investor Quantitative™ (IQ) Database survey data. This year's annual report examines U.S. household attitudes and behaviors relating to investing, and how goals and concerns have evolved in the face of continuing inflation and increasing worldwide conflicts.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. Given there is a high level of consumers confusion about pricing, we developed this qualitative report to look closely at their understanding and perception of pricing. Through the use of focus groups, we look at what services are considered worth paying for, and what are the preferred ways of paying for them. Here are some of the most significant learnings: 

• Today’s consumer talks about pricing more rationally than in the past, acknowledging that a company “needs to make money.” 
• Paying directly reduces “worry” about incentives. 
• Paying a flat fee or “commissions” is the preferred way to pay over a percentage of account value, and a flat fee is the preferred way to pay for financial planning.  

Our research shows that 20% of customers think their savings and investing solutions are free, so this report also explores consumer response to the word "free." Focus group consensus is that guidance and motivational support should be free, but personal financial planning should not be. Also, investment management services should not be free. 

Read this important report to learn more about how clients think of and respond to pricing - many dont know what they pay or how they pay.

Learn more

This report is our annual look at how households are currently allocating their assets and which investment managers are leading the industry. Here are a few highlights:

• Within the 95M households who know their products, 59M report they do not own mutual funds. Half of 59M households that don't own mutual funds get equity exposure from other products.
• Individual stocks are still the most commonly owned, but adoption of separately managed accounts (SMAs) is growing significantly.
• 19.4M households report using cryptocurrency. Crypto use has more than doubled from 9.4M households in 2020

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This report is derived from our 2023 qualitative research that looks at what "simplify my finances" means to consumers and why this is #1 driver for moving money. Simplifying finances means different things to different people and few patterns emerge within traditional segmentations. It is influences by a number of things such as online experiences, hassle free user interfaces, easy access to live representatives and a single point of contact.  Simplicity, however, does not necessarily correlate with consolidation and using fewer firms - many consumers would like to do business at “one place,” but aggregation raises concerns.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This report is the first module of the 2023 Explore Qualitative Research and looks at Direct Indexing, considered by some to be the managed account product of the future. Read this report to learn more about how consumers understand and feel about direct indexing.

Direct indexing involves buying the individual stocks that make up an index, in the same weights as the index. This is another form of index investing and contrasts to index mutual funds or index exchange-traded funds (index ETFs) that track the index.

Learn more

The industry continues to consolidate and assets are concentrated at the largest firms. Additionally, consumers have more savings and investing relationships than in the past. All of these dynamics has made it more and more difficult to acquire new customers, capture new assets and increase share of wallet. This report looks at consumer relationships with stores, who is on the leader board for reach, share of wallet, share of assets, and trust. and recommends ways for all the other stores to gain share of wallet despite the headwinds. Bottom line - it is all tied to advice & guidance and cross-selling different account types. Learn more

The 2023 Portrait™ of U.S. Household Wealth reports on the current breakdown of household wealth in America. This report is updated annually. Learn who controls the wealth by age and asset ranges through the Portrait Grid™.
Key finding highlights include:

• Nearly 130M households control $69.7T in investable assets, with growth in taxable now faster than retirement.
• Concentration of investable assets is increasing. In 2022, only 12% of total investable assets is controlled by households with <$500K.
• Households age 55+ control $51.4T. Among households with <$5M, Post-Retirees still dwarf all other lifestages in both asset and household terms.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. Consumers' approach to financial decision-making is evolving rapidly. They are consulting more sources of information than before, and technology continues to play an increasingly important role in how households interact with financial services firms. However, self-direction is at an all-time low, and paid investment professionals are still the go-to source for close to 50% of U.S. households. A possible implication is the need for firms to develop more advice and guidance solutions that combine in-person and technology support.

Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. Today, nearly two thirds of U.S. households are involved in intergenerational wealth transfer, with an estimated $17.5T changing hands over the next 20 years. Additionally, one in four U.S. households have funded trusts. Obviously there are implications for all financial service firms. This report looks at wealth transfer, family conversations about wealth transfer, who's planning to bequeath and inherit, and the use of trusts. One big takeaway - these topics are no longer just for the wealthy.

Learn more

Consumers are now placing more importance on pricing when selecting savings and investing providers. In fact, having clear and understandable fees is the #1 want from consumers. Also, approximately 75% dont "understand very well" how firms make money, and an understanding of how providers earn money is strongly linked to trust. Read our highly rated "wants and pricing" report which looks at the top customer wants, customer understanding of pricing, and which firms customers rate as "Top Performers" across these important metrics. Learn more

This report examines patterns in household savings, trends in household asset allocation, behaviors that indicate financial wellness, and a key pitfall of most workplace and retail advice experiences. More households are saving more than at any time since 2012, with 30% of households saving 10%+ of income, nearly double 17% in 2012. Consumer use of liquid accounts has increased more than other account types, with the household use of taxable brokerage accounts growing up to 37% of households from 31% in 2021 and 29% in 2020. Of the solid financial behaviors that lead to better asset accumulation, contributing regularly to a retirement savings plan is currently the most difficult to adopt, with only 43% of households reporting that they “have a retirement savings plan and contribute to it regularly." Though having insurance needs covered is another important key indicator of financial wellness, most customer experiences today do not address this possible pitfall—presenting an opportunity to deliver advice more efficiently. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. Money Movement 2022 looks at how and why investors are moving money between firms, where they are moving to and from, how much they are moving, and the reasons for making the moves. Our analysis includes rollovers, transfer-of-assets (TOAs), and funding new accounts with new deposits.

Learn more

Today, 129M households make decisions $68.6T in investable assets, with 2 of 3 dollars in taxable accounts and the remainder in retirement. The 2022 Portrait™ of U.S. Household Wealth reports on the current breakdown of household wealth in America. This report is updated annually. Learn who controls the wealth by age and asset ranges through the Portrait Grid™. This research is the foundation of all market sizing at Hearts & Wallets. Use this report to size and refine your target markets using the TAM, SAM SOM methodology. Learn more

A lot is going on! Inflation is at record highs, markets are down, Russia and China are center stage of geopolitical instability, and there is talk of a recession. Just released 2022 survey data reveals the top consumer attitudes, sentiments, concerns and goals, so you can see whats top of mind for your customers and where the opportunities lie. Here are a few stats: 46% of US households have high concern about inflation. And 1/3rd of these consumers are holding more than 90% of their assets in cash as buying power erodes. But more and more consumers feel their advisor is a partner to them, underscoring the value of advice and guidance in the face of the current headwinds. Learn more

This is the 3rd report of the three-part series, "State of Advice and Guidance for 2023." The other two parts of the series are "Advice That Models Real Life: Structuring Customer Experiences for Inclusivity, Life Events & Taxes" (June 2022), and "Structuring Differentiated Advice Experiences: Balancing Customer Goals, Uncovering Pitfalls and Striving for Scalability" (April 2022). This report focuses on the impact of properly packaging experiences through assigning names and clearly defined value propositions. It also covers current and future pricing of advice experiences, and digital best practices. Learn more

There are a number of "consumer wants" that are experiencing significant jumps in importance - including high quality mobile apps, online tools, and doing business with a well-known leader. Top wants of different customer segments vary significantly. For example, millennial millionaires prioritize quality of internet account access, while boomer millionaires prioritize being unbiased. Learn what your customers and prospects want most from you! Also included - consumers now have a greater awareness of pricing at a time when the top consumer "want" from financial services firms is clear and understandable fees. Learn the potential implications as you price products and services.This report also looks at how the competitive field is getting tighter and how there are fewer "Top Performers" firms on fewer wants. Learn more

This report covers how investors are making investment decisions today, specifically looking at their their reliance on information sources including financial advisors and technology. Consumers of all asset groups want more involvement in investment decisions, but financial professionals are still the most influential source of investing information and advice. Learn more on what it means for you as an asset manager and a distributor. Learn more

This report looks at common gaps seen in lower level advice and guidance experiences, and how the leading experiences match the realities and challenges of real life. Topics covered include modeling for spouses, partners, and dependents; employment patterns and changing jobs; unplanned life events; optimizing taxes for the long term, and more. Learn more

Ownership of managed investment solutions including mutual funds, ETFs and robos grew in the past year. Does this mean investors are now seeking more professional investment management vs. relying on doing it themselves - especially given the current state of the market? Possibly, but individual stocks are now the most widely owned investment type, and trading activity spiked in the past year. This report explores both of these trends in detail, including which segments are driving each, and where the opportunities lie for asset managers, distributors and discount brokerage firms. Additionally, given the current market volatility, we have included a special section on how managed solutions help investors cope with handling market volatility. Learn more

Of all the points along the customer journey, receiving advice is one of the most important. And as consumers increase the number of relationships they have with financial services providers, advice experiences need to do more to remain competitive. This report looks at a number of today's top advice trends, associated best practices, and what you should consider as you structure your advice tools and interactions. 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. Learn 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. Learn 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. Learn more

This report explores which financial activities consumers find difficult, which consumer segments find specific activities difficult, and and where the biggest advice gaps are - all based on 2021 data. Also learn which consumers are more likely to see value in paying for advice when tasks are deemed difficult, and how it may help steer your advice pricing models. Learn 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. Learn more

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

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. Learn 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. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This report "Expectations from Workplace vs. Retail Advice" is sourced from the Hearts & Wallets Explore Qualitative™ Database. It looks at the attitudes of older affluent investors towards financial planning and investment services provided through the workplace compared to those of the retail market. It is part of the broader Explore Qualitative™ Series "Shopping for Advice on Aging Gracefully" - a collection of exercises and concept tests focused on the drivers of older consumers moving money, the changing needs of an aging population, and industry questions about pricing of advice for this segment. Additionally, the report covers various consumer segments on the Inside Advice^® Grid to help gain an understanding of behaviors relating to advice and guidance.

Learn more

This report covers the demographic breakdown of household wealth in America. U.S retail investors control $68.3T in investable assets. This is at an all time high but there is an unprecedented concentration of wealth in higher asset households. Learn who controls the wealth by life stage and asset level through the Portrait Grid™. This research is the foundation of all market sizing at Hearts & Wallets. This report covers the demographic breakdown of household wealth in America and features the Hearts & Wallets Portrait Grid™. Learn who controls the wealth by life stage and asset level Learn 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. Learn 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. Learn 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. Learn 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. Learn more

As consumers want more involvement in their investment decisions, and delegation has decreased to an all-time low, consumer appetite for “seeking input from various sources” has increased to an all-time high. Those who are blending advice from financial professionals and online sources, first research online and then validate with financial professionals. This report explores the reasons for these trends and potential strategies to match these behaviors. The report also looks at the activities consumers are doing online – what is most common, what is growing, what is shrinking, and what devices (mobile vs. computer) they are choosing for specific types of information. For example, in 2020, engagement with online planning tools and calculators declined at the same time we are experiencing a rise in use of mobile across the board. Behaviors by wealth level and age group suggest on-line planning tools may not be keeping up with usage trends in technology. Learn 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.

Learn more

The Hearts & Wallets Attitudes & Sentiment report annually tracks key consumer sentiments, goals and attitudes that are relevant to financial services firms and their strategic decisions. This year, we examine the impact of COVID-19 – how the initial shock and ongoing reactions have changed the consumer mindset and what it means for savings, investing and advice solutions. One in 3 consumers say “the COVID-19 crisis has changed their attitudes towards saving and investing,” and firms should provide appropriate outreach to this group. Nationally, since the onset of the crisis, consumer optimism regarding their financial futures has bounced back for some but not others. Many are setting goals again but are focused on the short term. And, receptivity to advice is warming with a renewed interest in banking, savings solutions and packaged products. Learn more

The language of investing is complex. Despite all the efforts within the industry to simplify it and make investing concepts more easily understood, we are failing. Investors are still confused - 81% consumers lack financial fluency. This report looks at the language of investing and who does and does not understand it; how workplace plan participants are particularly challenged; and the implications of confusion and the associated opportunities. Learn more

Older Americans are looking for help on a broad range of topics, but most depend on retail sources of advice vs. what is offered through the workplace. Find out why. Learn the biggest complaints, suggestions, and possible solutions for bridging the gap between wants and current workplace offerings. Learn 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. Learn more

This second COVID-19 tracking supplement examines the pandemic’s impact to health, work, saving investing and advice behaviors, connecting to core fields from Investor Quantitative™ Database. Over 29 million households have 1 or more partners out of work, which has significantly impact consumer’s finances and attitudes. As a result of the extraordinary levels of unemployment, report findings are weighted for unemployment, in addition to age and assets, to ensure that the voices of the unemployed were counted adequately in the national figures. The report covers financial goals, economic concerns, attitudes toward financial advice and advisors, sources of advice, spending, saving, financial responses, and consumer attitudes toward public policy. Learn more

The annual Portrait™of U.S. Household Wealth gives you the power to size segments of U.S retail investors and understand the demand for solutions in the context of the total market. This sizing report provides new data on consumer households and the assets they control by age, wealth groups, lifestage and generation, drawn from government resources and the Hearts & Wallets Investor Quantitative™ Database. This year's report features market sizing on women, the retirement income market and emerging savers. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. “Elder Financial Care” provides insights into the future dynamics of periodic vs. subscription. This concept test provokes price discovery by first presenting two separately priced options with distinct features and then a blended option with ambiguity in payment mechanisms. Segmentation is by desired scope of advice among older, affluent investors who are shopping for advice.

Learn more

This special tracking appendix examines the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on U.S. consumer finances, attitudes and behaviors. This just-fielded data reveals impacts by generation, asset level, and work and health status. The analysis looks at income and spending cut-backs, changes in goals and financial actions, changes to investment mix and more. Learn 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. Learn more

Understand financial pain points that can shape products and services to support action taking. This report analyzes the level of difficulty consumers have with key financial tasks, rates of seeking help, and actions consumers are taking and plan to take in the future. Learn more

Get the full picture on consumer goals, sentiments, concerns and attitudes toward saving and investing to guide strategy and inform decisions. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. “Home Conversion Mortgage” aka Reverse Mortgage explores awareness and receptivity to using mortgages for aging in place, employing a disguised name to avoid pre-conceived notions about reverse mortgages.

Learn 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. Learn 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. Learn more

This report analyzes household involvement in inheritances, incidence of small funded trust accounts and impact on a variety of attitudes and wants. Find out what types of family conversations about money are occurring and who is driving them. See quantifiable benefits of partner retirement planning. Learn 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. Learn 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

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. Learn 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. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This Explore Qualitative™ Report examines the top reasons consumers say they keep cash, and what could motivate them to move cash into investments. It is an Explore Exercise, meaning it is a structured exploration of a topic that is emerging as strategically important to help identify future actions. The series of which this report is part, Shopping for Advice on Aging Gracefully, explores the increase in older consumers moving money, changing needs of an aging population, and industry-level questions about pricing of advice and high levels of cash. The demographic for this series is investors ages 53-70 with >$500K investable assets (>$250K outside workplace) who are actively involved in money movement, segmented by Desired Scope and Service Ranges on Inside Advice® Grid. As with all Explore Qualitative™ Reports, the underlying data in this report are consumer comments.

Learn more

This section of the IQ Database covers the foundation of household finance. It begins with employment, since the ability to deploy human capital for income in labor markets is the foundation of wealth accumulation for most people. Written for industry practitioners rather than academics, this report uses national statistics to set context, analyzes lifestage, investable asset segments, and specific groups where appropriate, such as households with one or more partners working "gigs," and includes commentary on implications for saving, investing and advice. This report covers spending, by type, and saving, to complete the picture of household budget. Statistics and analysis of debt and real estate round out the picture of consumer household finance. Learn more

Exclusively available to Trends™ subscribers. This Explore Qualitative™ Report examines how investors want to access and pay for various pieces of financial advice and service. It is an Explore Concept Test, meaning it reveals consumer reactions to a product or service that could be commercialized soon or is newly in-market. The series of which this report is part, Shopping for Advice on Aging Gracefully, explores the increase in older consumers moving money, changing needs of an aging population, and industry-level questions about pricing of advice and high levels of cash. The demographic for this series is investors ages 53-70 with >$500K investable assets (>$250K outside workplace) who are actively involved in money movement, segmented by Desired Scope and Service Ranges on Inside Advice® Grid. As with all Explore Qualitative™ Reports, the underlying data in this report are consumer comments.

Learn more

This highly sought-after report is Hearts & Wallets' annual market sizing study. The Portrait Grid™ is the foundation for sizing market opportunities. Gain actionable estimates of households and investable assets for the addressable U.S. retail investor market. Size by lifestage and generation, or with fact-based sizing exercises on personal advice shoppers. This report draws from the Hearts & Wallets IQ Database, which contains consumer buying pattern insights on 45,000 U.S. households, as well as U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Consumer Finances, Federal Reserve Flow of Funds and Hearts & Wallets analysis. Learn more

This report uses the traditional three-point spectrum from self-direction to delegation as a springboard for a deeper examination of consumer behaviors using 15 sources of advice. The analysis at reliance on each source reveals that stated preference and behavior often diverge. The findings quantify "hybrid" users of advice, meaning consumers who use both online and people, tracking growth nationally, and provides current statistics for 36 cohorts of age and investable asset groups. Digging deeper into use of technology, the report tracks 10+ online activities, by computer and mobile. This report analyzes reliance on 15 sources of saving and investment information and advice, and 13 online activities by device. This year's report includes a special section that analyzes the connection between mobile payments and use of mobile for saving, investing and advice. Learn more

Know your market. This highly sought-after annual market sizing provides estimates for current and projected total households and investable assets for the addressable U.S. retail investor market. These essential building blocks help to prioritize initiatives. The analysis draws from government data, Hearts & Wallets Investor Quantitative™ Database fields and expert Hearts & Wallets proprietary analysis. Learn more