In its analysis extrapolated from U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Reserve data, Hearts & Wallets estimated that there are now more than 40 million households with a combined net worth of $5.2 trillion who find it difficult or extremely difficult to know where to put their savings.
Stagnant financial markets and historically low interest rates have also led investors, with the exception of retirees, to accept more risk and volatility in their portfolios in pursuit of returns and income, according to Hearts & Wallets. Twenty-seven percent of the 2016 respondents were comfortable accepting volatility in exchange for the potential of receiving higher returns, up from 22 percent in 2015.
For the study, Hearts & Wallets surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. households as part of an annual survey and analyzed data from the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, the Survey of Consumer Finances and the U.S. Census Bureau.