As baby boomers start to enter retirement, financial
advisors need to be aware that they don't all share the same profile,
according to a recent study.
The report by the Spectrem Group found that the
trailing edge of the baby boom generation-the so-called 'Barely
Boomers" between the ages of 40 and 45-have more sophisticated
financial needs than their older counterparts.
A higher percentage of affluent Barely Boomers, for
example, hold hedge funds, private equity and future investments than
other segments of the baby boom generation, according to the report.
One third of Barely Boomers hold stock options and
30% hold restricted stock, and nearly a third of this segment's asset
allocation is dedicated to real estate.
Those are all higher percentages than those for
other segments of the baby boom generation, according to the study.
"Serving the Barely Boomer segment of the affluent
market requires advisors who possess a particularly broad skill set,"
according to the study.
That's one of the reasons only 24% of Barely Boomers
use full-service brokers as their primary advisors, compared to 37% of
boomers between the ages of 46 and 60, and 31% of those between 61 and
70.
"The needs of Barely Boomers, unique among the baby
boomer generation, present both a challenge and an opportunity
for those who can meet these requirements," said Catherine S.
McBreen, managing director of Spectrem Group.