This newfound interest in equities, however, relates to another trend observed by Jones: The ultra-wealthy are taking a more active role in how their assets are managed.
"A lot of families feel they outsourced the management of their wealth too much before 2008," Jones said. "Real clarity and control was pretty much nonexistent."
So instead of leaving their money in the hands of hedge fund managers and private bankers, wealthy families are taking a hands-on approach to their investments, he says. As a result, Jones is also seeing a lot of families retrench and focus investments on industries they know well-the businesses that made them wealthy, for example.
"I think there's been a marked difference in the behavior of the [wealthy]. They are a lot more involved in how their money is managed and getting a lot more involved in actually doing it themselves," he said.
Study: Donors Take On Less Risk
Philanthropic giving has remained relatively stable this year, with donors less willing to expose their charitable assets to market risk, according to a new survey.
"Pleasantly surprising" data showed that while 31% of wealthy donors exhibit a willingness to tolerate above-average levels of risk in their personal investing, only 19% report the same risk tolerance with their philanthropic investing, according to Claire Costello, national foundation executive for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which recently released the 2010 High-Net-Worth Philanthropy Study, the third such biennial report since it was first published in 2006.
"This tells us that donors seem to appreciate that their philanthropic assets are not their own, but are to be used for the common good, and should therefore be invested with appropriate levels of risk," Costello said.
The study also found low levels of usage of social or charitable goals-based investment tools and approaches among high-net-worth donors (e.g., donor programs or socially responsible investing). Some 73% are aware of such options but do not currently use them, and nearly 20% have no idea they exist, according to the study. At the same time, 95% of high-net-worth households have some or a great deal of confidence in nonprofit organizations, and 90% have similar confidence in individuals.
As for decision-makers at home in America, two out of five confer with their partner or spouse and then make joint decisions about charitable giving, while 16% go it alone.
The 2010 survey reflects the responses of more than 800 randomly selected donors with a household income greater than $200,000 and/or a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding their primary residence.