The No. 2 product on the list was long-term health-care insurance, one that would have hardly been on the radar screen a few years back, as evidenced by how few of the executives already had it. The less affluent executives were most interested, possibly because they would be the ones least able to absorb the costs if they weren't covered by insurance.
Overall, about one-third of the respondents were also interested in other products expressly designed for the affluent that are, as a rule, expensive to get into, including hedge funds and funds of funds. About one out of four executives was interested in learning more about equity investments, 529 plans, and private equity or private equity funds.
Finally, though interest was slightly up across the board, those in the wealthiest segment were far more interested in having their own money manager than their less wealthy counterparts. Private money management has long been a stalwart option of the super wealthy, as it offers a truly customized approach to portfolio management and is generally available only to those with significant assets.
Next month, we'll learn about who these executives use as their financial advisor and how and where they found those advisors.
Hannah Shaw Grove is managing director and chief marketing officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Russ Alan Prince is president of the consulting firm Prince & Associates.