Millionaires Added U.S. Stocks In Last Year As Crowd Fled

Millionaires Added U.S. Stocks In Last Year As Crowd FledBy By Margaret Collins – Jul 19, 2012 12:01 AM ETMillionaires added U.S. stocks more than any other asset in the latest year as average investors fled to bonds, accordingto a survey by Fidelity Investments.Twenty percent of the 1,020 households surveyed said they bought individual domestic equities in the 12 monthsended in March, the Boston-based mutual fund firm said. Cash ranked second, with 13 percent saying they added tothat asset class. Eleven percent purchased exchange-traded funds, and 10 percent each added individual U.S. bondsor domestic stock funds.The broader investing public has sought refuge in fixed income since the global credit crisis sent the Standard & Poor’s500 Index (SPX) down 38 percent in 2008, eight years after the meltdown in technology stocks. U.S. equity mutualfunds suffered net withdrawals of $130 billion in the 12 months ended March 31, according to Chicago-based researchfirm Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Bond funds attracted $191 billion. The S&P 500 gained 9.2 percent this year throughyesterday.”They’re probably ahead of the average investor in how they view opportunities,” Bob Oros, executive vice presidentin Fidelity’s institutional wealth services group, said of millionaires in an interview. “They’re becoming less and lessrisk-averse.”The firm, which had $3.5 trillion in assets under administration as of May 31, didn’t ask how much the millionairesinvested. There are 5.13 million U.S. households with at least $1 million in investable assets, or 4.3 percent of thepopulation, according to a May report by the Boston Consulting Group.Positive OutlookMillionaires’ outlook for the future of the economy was the most positive it’s been since the annual study started in2006, Oros said. Twelve percent said they would be willing to put aside a large portion of their portfolio for riskyinvestments, compared with 8.2 percent three years ago in the wake of the financial crisis.The households surveyed had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding retirement savings and real estate,and respondents weren’t necessarily Fidelity clients. The average respondent was age 61 and had $3.05 million ininvestable assets.About 26 percent said they don’t feel wealthy and would need a median of $5 million to feel rich. That compares with42 percent of millionaires in 2011 who said they’d need $7.5 million.”There’s been some recalibration with this group in terms of what they need,” Oros said.About 86 percent of the millionaires surveyed said they were self-made, rather than born wealthy. That’s why thegroup may be more comfortable with investing in U.S. stocks as many have seen capital appreciation in their ownexperience, he said.‚ÄòProxy’ Group“The average investor would be wise to look at this group as a proxy,” Oros said. “They are leading the way back in.”The Tiger 21 investment network also is seeing wealthy investors shift their portfolios toward riskier assets, albeit toprivate equity, said Michael Sonnenfeldt, founder of the New York-based group.Its 192 members, most of whom have a net worth of at least $10 million, on average had 18 percent of their investmentsin private equity in the second quarter, a four percentage point increase from the prior three months, according to aJuly 17 report.Their allocation to equities remained at 22 percent and their portion in fixed income, 13 percent, was the lowest sincethe tracking began in 2007, the study showed.”It’s so difficult to generate positive returns on traditional investments,” Sonnenfeldt said in a phone interviewyesterday. “They’ve realized they have to take a little more risk than maybe even is in their perfect comfort zone.”‚ÄòNervous’ TigersMembers still have a significant portion of their assets in cash, or 13 percent as of June 30, because they are “verynervous” as Europe struggles with the sovereign-debt crisis and theU.S. economy remains sluggish, he said.About 7 percent of millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they added alternative investments such as private equityand structured products to their holdings.Fidelity, the second-largest U.S. mutual fund company, partnered with Bellomy Research Inc., based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to conduct the study via the Internet.