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Definitions

Affluent Core Customer Segments
Affluent Core Customer segments are developed on the basis of the type of institution where the household places the greatest percentage of its savings and investment dollars (affluent households are those with a total income of $100,000 or more, or assets of $500,000 or more excluding the value of the primary home, which is equal to or greater than $500,000). If the highest percentages are equal for two or more institutions, the segment determination is based on the household's primary financial institution or preferred primary financial institution. For convenience of presentation, bank and credit union have been combined to form the "bank-oriented" segment, and full-service and discount brokerage have been combined to form the "brokerage-oriented" segment. If desired, these categories can be analyzed separately. The Affluent Core Customer segments in our preformatted crosstabs and graphics are Banking institution, Brokerage (net), Mutual fund company, Financial planning company, Insurance company, Pension plans, and Other.
Age Cohorts
Generation Z
Primary household head born between 1995 and 2010.
Millennials
Primary household head born between 1977 and 1994.
Younger Millennials
Primary household head born between 1987 and 1994
Older Millennials
Primary household head born between 1977 and 1986
Generation X
Primary household head born between 1963 and 1976.
Baby Boomers
Primary household head born between 1946 and 1962
Younger Boomers
Primary household head born between 1954 and 1962.
Older Boomers
Primary household head born between 1946 and 1953.
Silent + Greatest
Primary household head born before 1946.
Assets
The MacroMonitor tracks 32 individual classes of assets. Asset balances include checking accounts; savings accounts; CDs; US Savings Bonds; money market deposit accounts; money market mutual funds; stock or bond mutual funds; publicly traded stock; nontraded stock; closed-end funds; corporate bonds; municipal bonds and notes; REITs (real estate investment trusts); unit investment trusts; zero coupon bonds; collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs); US Treasury securities; custodial accounts; education savings accounts; 529 plans; ETFs (exchange traded funds); hedge funds; IRAs (individual retirement accounts) and SEPs (simplified employee pensions); salary-reduction plans (SRPs); individual annuities; Keogh accounts; business, primary home, other real estate; tangible assets; owned vehicles; cash value of life insurance.
Attitudinal Themes
Factor Analysis, a statistical technique developed and favored by behavioral psychologists, is used to create Attitudinal Themes. It is a particularly effective technique to use when analyzing a large number of variables—in this case the MacroMonitor's financial attitudes. Factor Analysis often identifies themes, or data relationships, that are not apparent. Attitudinal Themes are used to describe consumer segments, not define them. Attitudinal Themes change from one wave of the MacroMonitor to another because the levels of agreement or disagreement to attitudes change in response to prevailing economic conditions.
Cash Value of Life Insurance
The cash value of individual life insurance policies is based on the face value and age of the policy and data about the age of the insured head of household.
Census Regions
  • New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
  • Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA)
  • East North Central (IN, IL, MI, OH, WI)
  • West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
  • South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)
  • East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
  • West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)
  • Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, UT, WY)
  • Pacific (CA, OR, WA)
Financial Assets
Financial assets are total assets (see Assets), excluding the values of businesses, homes and other real estate, tangible assets, and owned vehicles.
Investable Assets
Investable assets are financial assets excluding salary-reduction plans and 529 plan funds.
Liabilities
Liabilities include first-mortgage loans (primary home), junior-mortgage loans (primary home), other real estate loans, margin loans, consumer loans, vehicle loans, policy loans, and credit-card balances.
Life Stage
Life Stage segments with children are defined before defining the Preretired or Retired segments. (Retired households are households in which the primary head is age 65 or older and no head of household works 20 or more hours per week; households in which the primary head is age 50 or older and one head of household is retired and the other head of household, if present, does not work 20 or more hours per week; or households in which no male head of household is present and the female head of household is 50 or older and not working for pay, temporarily laid off, or unemployed and looking for work.)
Single No Child
The primary head of household is single, divorced, separated, or widowed and is younger than 45 years of age. The household supports no dependent children, and the household is not a retired household.
Married No Child
The primary head of household is married and is younger than 45 years of age. The household supports no dependent children, and the household is not a retired household.
Oldest Child 0–11
The household supports at least one dependent child age 11 or younger. It supports no dependent children 12 years of age or older.
Oldest Child 12–17
The household supports at least one dependent child between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age. It supports no dependent children age 18 years or older.
Oldest Child 18 or Older
The household supports at least one dependent child 18 years of age or older.
Preretired
The primary head of household is 45 years of age or older. The household supports no dependent children, and the household is not a retired household.
Younger Retired
The primary head of household is 70 years of age or younger. The household supports no dependent children, and the household is a retired household.
Older Retired
The primary head of household is 70 years of age or older. The household supports no dependent children, and the household is a retired household.
Liquid Assets
Liquid assets include checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular and passbook savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market mutual funds, US savings bonds, Treasury securities, corporate and mutual bonds, zero coupon bonds, collateralized mortgage obligations, unit investment trusts, stock and bond mutual funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, hedge funds, and publicly traded and nontraded stock.
Net Worth
The purpose of the net-worth calculation is to arrive at a consistent, relative measure of household wealth. Net worth is calculated by subtracting liabilities from assets.
Revolving Retired
This population segment includes all households in which the primary head of household is 55 years of age or older, the household supports no dependent children, and the primary head is partially retired (went directly from full-time to part-time), no longer retired (retired completely and then returned to work full-time or part-time), or retired but planning to return to work.
Savings
Savings include money market deposit accounts, regular and passbook savings accounts, savings certificates, money market mutual funds, and US Savings Bonds.
Socioeconomic Level
The socioeconomic-level classification scheme takes into account the number of dependents in the household when estimating economic resources. For example, a couple earning $75,000 per year has substantially greater discretionary resources than does a family of five with the same household income. For nonretired households, the socioeconomic-level segments are defined by the number of persons in the household and the household's total income before taxes or any other deductions. For retired households, the segments are defined by the number of persons in the household and by net worth. The resulting classifications are Low, Low Middle, High Middle, and High.
Transaction Products
Transaction products include credit cards, checking and savings accounts, stockbrokerage accounts, ATM and debit cards, loans or lines of credit, insurance, automatic financial services, IRAs and SEPs, individual annuities, and salary-reduction plans.