Emerging affluent investors, as opposed to mass affluent investors, have greater wealth potential and may be on the path to becoming millionaires, according to Fidelity’s latest Millionaire Outlook study.

The study also offers suggestions for advisors on how to add this group of investors to their client base.

Fidelity defined emerging affluent investors as those between 21-49 years old with investable assets of $50,000 to less than $250,000 and household incomes of $100,000 or more.

Mass affluent investors are between 21-54 years old with investable assets of $250,000 to less than $1 million, or over age 55 and with investable assets of $500,000 to less than $1 million.

“Interestingly, women make up 68 percent of the emerging affluent group and one in four is non-white,” says Bob Oros head of the RIA segment for Fidelity clearing and custody. He suggests advisors should have diversity in their staff so they can align the right professional with the right client.

In addition, less than a quarter of this group are knowledgeable about investing and many feel that advisors are not interested in them due to their lower level of assets. "They want their advisors to take on an educator role and explain what they are investing in and why," says Oros.

Emerging affluent want to be engaged in the investment process and they want their communications with advisors to be fluid, quick and effective. “They want interaction, but not necessarily face to face across the table,” says Oros. “Technology plays a big role here because these individuals are quite comfortable with it.”

According to the study, emerging affluent investors have several wealth-building factors on their side and they share some similarities with current millionaires, which Fidelity defined as having between $1 million and $10 million investable assets.

On average, emerging affluent investors are 40 years of age. This gives them 27 years before they reach the normal retirement age of 67 to build wealth.

Many of the emerging affluent are working in similar careers as current millionaires, including information technology, finance and accounting. While they might be at lower-level positions than current millionaires, they have many years ahead of them for career advancement, according to Fidelity.

About eight in 10 emerging affluent investors have earned or increased their assets on their own, a trait they share with the millionaires, according to the study.

They share millionaires’ long-term focus, according to Fidelity, with three in four of both groups focused on the long-term growth of their assets, and three in 10 focused on supporting the lifestyle they want in retirement.

Similar to deca-millionaires, which Fidelity describes as individuals with over $10 million in investable assets, the emerging affluent display a willingness to invest aggressively to help maximize returns, as well as a willingness to set aside a significant portion of their portfolio for riskier investments that promise a bigger payoff.

Both groups were also most likely to describe themselves as “self-directed” investors, seeking hands-on involvement with their investments.

“Advisors need to get the word out that they want these clients. This is a big opportunity, but advisors better have their eyes wide open and better take the time to appreciate the nuance here or they won’t be effective,” says Oros.

Bellomy Research conducted the online survey of 1,064 respondents with investable assets between $50,000 to more than $10 million in July.