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Top-Line 2014–15 Affluent MacroMonitor

Introduction

The MacroMonitor consists of survey responses that CFD collected between June and September of 2014 from 4,405 financial decision makers nationwide via GfK's KnowledgePanel®. Of the 4,405 respondent households, 2,306 are affluent households, those whose annual income is $100,000 or more or whose total assets, excluding the primary residence, are $500,000 or more. This Affluent Top-Line volume presents the responses of those affluent households. Responses to the survey are weighted to represent all U.S. economic household units (37,756,000). The 2014–15 data is trended againts the 2012–13 data where applicable. This volume follows the order of the survey questionnaire.

The respondent population is described before the base for each question. For example: "Have Credit Card"; "Own a Mutual Fund." If no respondent population is specified, the respondent population is: "All U.S. Households." The weighted number of households answering a question is the "base" for that question. Responses to each question are shown as percentages of this base. An asterisk (*) in place of a numerical percentage indicates that the percentage is greater than 0 but less than 1%; a – indicates no response. The answers to each single-response question should sum to 100%. In some cases, the sum will be slightly larger or smaller than 100% because of rounding.

The 2012–13 MacroMonitor have been included and appear in italics to the right of, or just below, the 2014–15 MacroMonitor numbers. "n.a." indicates the item was not asked in 2012.

A sample question is shown below.

Sample Question from Section K
5.   Compared with a year ago, how much does your household owe on its credit cards? (Select one answer only)
  Have Credit Card Base: 35,492,000
30,928,000
  4% 5% Much more than a year ago
  9 5 Somewhat more than a year ago
  56 56 About the same as a year ago
  12 12 Somewhat less than a year ago
  15 18 Much less than a year ago
  4 4 Don't Know

Four appendices follow the questionnaire sections. Appendix A outlines the survey methodology, including questionnaire design, sample design and selection, and fielding. Appendix B describes the weighting procedures used to weight the sample to match nationally representative distributions. Appendix C provides a sampling tolerance table so users may estimate statistical significance. Appendix D describes the net-worth algorithm and other calculated variables.

For further information, or any comments, suggestions, or questions, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introduction v
Questionnaire Sections  
A. Household Information A-1
Household composition A-1
Household head sex and age A-2
Marital status A-2a
Financial responsibility A-2a
B. Financial Attitudes and Internet Access and Use B-1
$25,000 windfall B-1
General financial attitudes B-1
Direct marketing B-2a
Automatic and alternative access B-4
Financial services online B-5
Social media and financial services B-5
Mobile devices and financial services B-9
C. Use of Financial Institutions C-1
Primary institution C-1
Attitudes toward institutions C-2
Banks and credit unions C-3
Insurance companies C-6
Stockbrokerages, mutual fund, and financial planning companies C-10
Consumer finance, vehicle finance, and other credit companies C-13
Share of wallet C-16
D. Checking, Savings, and Other Accounts D-1
Checking and savings accounts D-1
Debit and ATM cards D-2
Money market deposit accounts and money market mutual funds D-3
Packaged and asset management accounts D-4
Wrap or separately-managed accounts D-5a
Custodial and education savings accounts and 529 plans D-7
Private banking D-8
Recent past and likely future account activities D-8a
E. Investments E-1
Saving and Investment goals E-1
Investment factors E-1
Risk–return tradeoff E-1a
Discretionary income E-1a
Attitudes toward investing and saving E-2
CDs E-3
U.S. savings bonds E-4
U.S. Treasury Securities E-4
Stock and bond mutual funds E-4a
Stocks, bonds, and other securities E-10a
Stockbrokerage accounts E-11
Trading activity E-11a
Margin agreements and accounts E-12
Method of trading E-12a
Personal trusts E-13
Tangible assets E-13a
Discount rate E-14
Recent past and likely future investment activities E-14a
F. Retirement Products F-1
Attitudes toward retirement F-1
Retirement status and concerns F-1a
IRAs and SEPs F-2
Keogh accounts F-3a
401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans F-4
Individual annuities F-6a
Defined benefit pension plans F-11
Amount needed to retire F-11
Recent past and likely future retirement activities F-12
G. Real Estate G-1
Primary home G-1
Homeowner's and renter's insurance G-1a
Home ownership and value G-2
Primary home loans and equity lines G-2
Mortgage life and disability insurance on primary home G-4a
Other real estate G-5
Mortgages, loans, and lines of credit on other real estate G-5a
Insurance on other real estate G-6
Escrow Accounts G-6
Reverse mortgages G-7
Recent past and likely future real estate-related activities G-7
H. Vehicles H-1
Ownership H-1
Loans and leases H-2
Insurance H-3
Recent past and likely future vehicle activities H-4
I. General Attitudes I-1
Level of importance of household's financial needs I-1
Level of usefulness of household's financial products and services I-2
Investment risk tolerance I-2a
J. Consumer Loans J-1
Purposes for borrowing J-1
Attitudes toward credit J-1a
Installment loans, education loans, other loans, and credit lines J-2
Cash out auto equity loans J-3
Peer-to-peer lending J-3
Recent past and likely future consumer credit activities J-4
K. Credit, Charge, And Other Cards K-1
Credit cards—Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and retail store K-1
Credit cards—Issuing institution; co-branding/affinity; rewards K-2
Credit cards—Payment habits K-3
Charge cards K-4b
Prepaid, relaodable, and stored-value cards K-5
Recent past and future likely card activities K-6
L. Life Insurance L-1
Attitudes toward insurance L-1
Group life insurance L-2
Individual life insurance L-2
Term life insurance L-3
Whole life (straight life) insurance L-3a
Universal, variable, and interest-sensitive life insurance L-4
Policy loans L-5
Most recent individual life insurance purchase L-5
Recent past and likely future life insurance activities L-6a
M. Other Insurance M-1
Attitudes toward health insurance and other types of insurance M-1
Government-sponsored health insurance M-1
Health and health-related insurance—group, individual, premiums M-2
Health insurance deductibles M-3
Out-of-pocket medical expenses M-3
Health Savings Account M-3a
Liability, accident, and other insurance M-4
Recent past and likely future health-related insurance activities M-5
N. Information and Advice N-1
Financial strategy and confidence N-1
Attitudes toward financial information and advice N-1a
Use of financial professionals N-2
Level of financial control N-4
Trust in financial professionals N-4a
Recent past and likely future professional financial advice N-5
Financial information sources N-6
Recent past and likely future financial advisor activities N-7
O. Background Information O-1
Recent past and likely future life events O-1
Membership in organizations and associations O-2
Charitable contributions and other tax preparation information O-2
Primary head of household O-3
Highest level of education O-3
Employment status O-3
Employer benefits O-3a
Retirement age O-4
Occupation O-5
Business ownership O-6
Household income—sources, amounts, percent contribution O-7
Ethnicity of household heads O-8
Respondent identity O-8
Appendixes  
A: MacroMonitor Survey Methodology AA-1
B: Survey Weighting Procedures BB-1
C: Sampling Tolerance Tables CC-1
D: Calculated Variables DD-1