E*TRADE Study Reveals Varying Ways Couples Approach Saving and Investing
February 27 2018 - 4:05PM
Business Wire
While most couples discuss or make investing
decisions as a team, willingness to give discretion to one’s
partner varies significantly by generation
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) today announced
results from the most recent wave of StreetWise, the E*TRADE
quarterly tracking study of experienced investors. Results revealed
the habits of married couples as they manage their shared
investment portfolios:
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- Most share or discuss investing in
one form or another. For married couples, over half (55
percent) either share investing responsibility equally (17 percent)
or have a discussion with their partner before making a decision
(38 percent).
- Yet Millennials are significantly
more likely to be comfortable giving discretion to their
partner. Whether due to the longer time horizon to recover from
investing decisions gone wrong, or perhaps simply from trust and
confidence in their partner, three out of four millennial investors
(75 percent) are comfortable with their partner making an
investment decision without their input. This population is also
the most likely (53 percent) to be making decisions on their own,
without discussing with their partner.
- And Baby Boomers are far more likely
to feel the opposite. Conversely, older generations are
actually more likely to be uncomfortable giving investing
discretion to their partner (58 percent). Given Boomers’ proximity
to retirement, perhaps this generation feels too much is at stake
not to be involved and aware. Further, this generation is also the
most likely of all the age groups to actually be making decisions
as a team.
“I think we can all agree that trust and communication are
essential elements of any successful relationship, and especially
so when making financial decisions,” commented Mike Loewengart, VP
of Investment Strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “It’s encouraging to
see so many couples tackling investing challenges together, rather
than taking the lone road. Working together early and often
produces many tangible long-term benefits, which is likely not lost
on older generations who know that sharing objectives and aligning
investment strategies can pay serious dividends down the road.”
Mr. Loewengart provided additional steps that married investors
may want to consider to fully optimize their investing
portfolios:
- Review your assets holistically.
It’s good to know what investing accounts your partner has, how
aggressive his/her portfolio is, and when your partner envisions
retiring. This helps a couple align investment strategies and come
up with a cohesive plan.
- Diversify across paths. Look to
optimize contributions across your 401(k) and IRA accounts. If one
partner has a dollar-for-dollar employer match and another has a 5
percent match, it may be better to direct contributions to the
account that has the bigger payoff.
- Find the right level of risk.
Finding the right level of risk doesn’t need to be a tug-of-war.
Consider each prospective retirement date and be open to using each
other’s different perspectives to create the appropriate level of
risk within the investing portfolios.
- Fortify your financial house.
There are a number of steps you can take to ensure you are prepared
should the unforeseen occur. For instance, make sure all
beneficiary forms are completed and up to date, and don’t forget
emergency savings. Three to six months of expenses is a good start
and will allow for some flexibility if you are faced with an
unexpected emergency.
E*TRADE aims to enhance the financial independence of traders
and investors through a powerful digital offering and professional
guidance. To learn more about E*TRADE’s trading and investing
platforms and tools, visit etrade.com.
For useful trading and investing insights from E*TRADE, follow
the company on Twitter, @ETRADE.
About the Survey
This wave of the survey was conducted from January 1 to January
15 of 2018 among an online US sample of 923 self-directed active
investors who manage at least $10,000 in an online brokerage
account. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.23 percent at the
95 percent confidence level. It was fielded and administered by
Research Now. The panel is broken into thirds of active (trade more
than once a week), swing (trade less than once a week but more than
once a month), and passive (trade less than once a month). The
panel is 61 percent male and 39 percent female with an even
distribution across online brokerages, geographic regions, and age
bands.
Referenced Data
Please select which of the following best describes how
your family's primary investment portfolio is overseen within the
family. Age Total 25-34
35-54 55+ I am solely responsible 45% 53% 49% 34% I
am mostly responsible, but I discuss the decisions with my partner
36% 35% 33% 44% It is an equal responsibility between my partner
and me 17% 12% 17% 20% My partner is mostly responsible, but we
discuss the decisions 2% 0% 1% 2% My partner is solely responsible
0% 0% 0% 0%
How comfortable are you with
your partner making an investing decision without your input?
Age Total 25-34 35-54
55+ Top 2 Box 55% 75% 58%
42% Very comfortable 19% 33% 16% 13% Somewhat comfortable
36% 42% 42% 29% Somewhat uncomfortable 27% 20% 24% 33% Very
uncomfortable 18% 5% 18% 25%
Bottom 2 Box
45% 25% 42% 58%
“Millennial” defined as age 25–34 // “Gen X”
defined as age 35–54 //“Baby Boomer” defined as age
55+
# # #
About E*TRADE Financial and Important Notices
E*TRADE Financial and its subsidiaries provide financial
services including brokerage and banking products and services to
retail customers. Securities products and services are offered by
E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). Commodity futures and
options on futures products and services are offered by E*TRADE
Futures LLC (Member NFA). Managed Account Solutions are offered
through E*TRADE Capital Management, LLC, a Registered Investment
Adviser. Bank products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, a
Federal savings bank, Member FDIC, or its subsidiaries. More
information is available at www.etrade.com.
The information provided herein is for general informational
purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past
performance does not guarantee future results.
E*TRADE Financial, E*TRADE, and the E*TRADE logo are trademarks
or registered trademarks of E*TRADE Financial Corporation.
ETFC-G
© 2018 E*TRADE Financial Corporation. All rights reserved.
E*TRADE Financial Corporation and Research Now are separate
companies that are not affiliated. E*TRADE Financial Corporation
engages Research Now to program, field, and tabulate the study.
Research Now Group, Inc. provides digital research data and has
locations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and
Asia-Pacific. For more information, please go to
www.researchnow.com.
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