The study was conducted on 500 U.S. residents with at least $500,000 in investable assets. The main topic of the study consisted of finding consumers attitudes towards “financial services companies that provide ‘one-stop shopping.’” On average respondents use “2.4 companies to handle their financial needs.”
I was a little surprised that some of the respondents did not have a primary financial advisor. Either they are sitting on their money, using multiple advisors or investing their money by themselves. Of these respondents most were leery about “putting all of their eggs in one basket.” However, 34 percent do get all their financial services from one company and “many of the other participants are interested in the idea of one-stop shopping.”
Getting all of your financial or other services from one company is not only a function of comfort but of human nature. In my experience people like to have a feeling of knowing the people they do business with and also feeling part of a bigger “family” or organization that takes care of their needs.
One of the questions in the survey was, “Which of the following would be most important to receive from your primary financial firm?” Insurance services actually came in a paltry eighth place with 25 percent. Investment advice was number one with 61 percent. This does not come as too much of a surprise as insurance is not always thought of as important in people’s financial matters. This even applies to those with over $500,000 in investable assets.
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