More than half of Americans believe money can buy peace of mind and happiness, but men and women apparently approach those concepts differently, according to a new survey by Boston Private, a wealth management, trust and banking firm based in Boston.

Men are more driven to acquire money for money’s sake, while women are more focused on how money can enhance family life and relationships, according to Boston Private’s survey of 300 United States residents with $1 million to $20 million in investable assets.

The survey examined the reasons people acquire wealth and what that money gives them.

Sixty-five percent of those surveyed define wealth as peace of mind, while 54 percent define it as happiness (with some selecting both), rather than defining it as the material objects it can purchase or the status it brings with it.

Daniel Lash partner and advisor at VLP Financial Advisors in Vienna, Va., whose clients have between $1 million and $10 million in investable assets, said he agrees that wealth can buy happiness. But “I don’t think the wealth itself is what makes you happy. It is what the wealth allows you to accomplish, such as provide for your family, putting a roof over your head, giving you the ability to travel or allowing you to put the kids through college. Those are the things that make us happy.”

Andrew Crowell, vice chairman of wealth management at D.A. Davidson & Co., a wealth management, investment, and financial services company based in Great Falls, Mont., agreed.

“Money in and of itself should be a theoretical concept. It is a relief not to have to worry about it, but when we talk to clients we want to put a face on that happiness,” he said.

Jesse Abercrombie, a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Dallas, noted that it is important for advisors to know how clients feel about money.

“In our introductory meeting, we ask what is important about money for the client and then ask what their goals are. These two things have to be in harmony,” he said.

Knowing what money means to the client “gives the advisor a starting point to talk to clients. Some clients may have a lot of money but not get a lot of happiness out of it,” said Abercrombie, who advises high-net-worth business owners and executives.

The survey also revealed some contradictions. For example, while 72 percent of respondents said family is the biggest driver behind the pursuit of wealth, nearly half, 47 percent, feel that the cost of that pursuit of money is having less time to spend with family.

Only a minority of people in general pursue wealth for its own sake. However, men are nearly twice as likely to do so as women, 29 percent to 15 percent, the survey found.

Echoing other studies, the survey showed millennials were the most likely, at 64 percent, to give back to the community and charities, compared to 55 percent of Gen Xers and 48 percent of baby boomers.

However, Lash feels all generations are more community minded when they are young.

“I don’t think this is a millennial phenomenon, I think all generations when they are younger want to give back and help change the world. The baby boomers were much like this in the 1960’s,” he noted.

There is also a generational difference in the feelings that money generates. Sixty percent of millennials feel responsibility above all else, while the majority of Gen Xers and baby boomers feel gratitude and satisfaction.

As might be expected, more business owners (44 percent) think of wealth as representing potential than non-business owners (16 percent).

Two-thirds of the respondents said they only have informal family conversations about their wealth and the transfer of the money to the next generation. This is a gaping hole in planning and offers an opportunity for advisors who could help direct these conversations, said Crowell.

“Families are looking for ways to have these sensitive conversations and welcome the opportunity to have a moderated and structured meeting facilitated by an advisor,” he added. “In this way, a family’s fears can be allayed.”

Helping clients with legacy planning provides a way for an advisor to add real value for his clients, Crowell said.

Most high-net-worth individuals say thinking about wealth triggers feelings of satisfaction, responsibility and gratitude.

The interplay of these three emotions sheds important light on the motivations governing wealthy individuals, the survey said.

“We wanted to better understand the root motivations that drive people to build and achieve wealth,” said David Murphy, head of Wealth Advisory at Boston Private. "What we found was that these drivers are fluid and highly nuanced—and how we help people create wealth is not simply about financial figures, but about the realization of emotional aspirations.”