Affluence Rises for Asian-Americans
The number of wealthy Asian-Americans increased more than fivefold in the past two years, making them the fastest-growing group of affluent investors, according to a new study.
The finding, to be released Wednesday in a study by Spectrem Group of Chicago, highlights the rising fortunes of Asian-Americans and points to an important new market for private banks, wealth-advisory firms and brokerage houses. Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and others have started reaching out to Asian-American clients, among others, for new sources of growth.
Spectrem's study found that Asian-Americans now account for 5% of affluent U.S. households, up from less than 1% in 2002. Spectrem defines "affluent" as households with more than $500,000 in investible assets. Affluent households represent about 9.6% of the U.S. population, according to the study. The study surveyed U.S. households that described themselves as being "of Asian or Pacific Islands descent."
The average net worth of affluent Asian-Americans was $2.9 million, with $1.5 million of investible assets. Most of the subjects in the study built their wealth as accountants, physicians, dentists or technical specialists. The study said 5% of the affluent Asian-Americans were business owners, compared with 17% of the broader affluent population. Spectrem said most of the respondents earned their wealth recently, with very few acquiring their money through inheritance.
The study found major differences in the way wealthy Asian-Americans invest compared with the broader affluent population. Affluent Asian-Americans take greater risks with their investments, the study said, and are twice as likely as other affluent investors to trade online.
They also suffered more from the stock-market downturn than other wealthy investors. Of respondents, 28% lost more than half of their portfolios during the bear market, compared with 17% of the general affluent population. Wealthy Asian-Americans remain bullish, however, with 37% looking for buying opportunities in the past year, compared with 15% of the general affluent population.
"This group tends to be very aggressive in their investment philosophy," says Catherine McBreen, a managing director at Spectrem, which studies the wealthy.
Asian-Americans have so far shied away from using wealth advisers. Of respondents, 37% don't use any advisers, compared with 29% of the general affluent population.
Still, private banks and wealth advisers see wealthy Asian-Americans as a lucrative new market. Private-bank executives and wealth advisers say wealthy Asian-Americans are beginning to use advisers more often, following their losses in bear market.
亚裔美国人财富积聚速度加快
一项新的调查结果显示，富裕阶层中亚裔美国人的人数在过去两年中增加了5倍以上，他们因而当仁不让地成为增长最为迅速的富有投资者群体。
芝加哥市场调查公司Spectrem Group所进行调查的结果突出显示亚裔美国人财富日益增长这一事实，并为私人银行、理财公司和经纪公司指出了一个极为重要的新兴市场。美林公司(Merrill Lynch)、花旗集团(Citigroup)旗下的私人银行业子公司，以及其他公司目前均已闻风而动，在拓展其他客户资源的同时，纷纷著力吸引亚裔美国人客户，以便为公司增长增加新的渠道。
Spectrem的调查发现，在富有的美国家庭中，亚裔美国人家庭占到了5%的比重，而2002年这一比例尚不足1%。
Spectrem对于"富有家庭"的定义为，可供投资资产超过50万美元的美国家庭。调查结果显示，这种意义上的富有家庭代表了美国总人口的大约9.6%。此项调查的对象是那些自称是"亚洲或太平洋岛屿后裔"的美国家庭。
亚裔美国富人的平均资产净值为290万美元，其中可投资资产为150万美元。多数调查对象的职业为会计师、医生、牙医和专业技术人员。调查表明，多数财富均是白手起家创业的结果，只有极少数调查对象的财富是通过继承遗产所得。
研究发现，亚裔美国富人与其他族裔的富人在投资方式上存在重大差异。亚裔美国富人往往采用更具冒险性的投资方式，他们进行网上交易的可能性是其他富有投资者的两倍。
与此同时，亚裔美国富人从股市低迷中遭受的损失也比其他富有投资者要大。足足有28%的调查对象在熊市中损失了他们投资组合的半数以上，而一般富人中这一比例仅为17%。
不过，亚裔美国富人依然看好股市，过去1年中有37%的调查对象在择机买入，一般富人中这一比例为15%。
Spectrem董事总经理Catherine McBreen说，亚裔美国富余阶层的投资理念往往非常激进，他们非常依赖自己的判断。
亚裔美国人一向不使用投资顾问。足足有37%的亚裔美国富人不使用任何投资顾问，一般富人中这一比例为29%。调查表明，亚裔美国富人使用网上经纪人的可能性较其他富人高出1倍以上。
私人银行和理财咨询公司将亚裔美国富人视为一个有利可图的、但在很大程度上有待开发的市场。与西班牙裔美国人一样，亚裔美国人亦代表了成长最为迅速的富有投资者群体。
