Aussie millionaires willing to spend on advice
Australia's millionaires are prepared to splash their cash to get the best advice possible, according to research by Investment Trends.
Data from the Investment Trends 2014 High Net Worth Investor Report, found that just 40 per cent of the country's 443,500 millionaires had sought advice between November 2013 and October 2014, down from 44 per cent the previous year.
Although the report showed a decline in the numbers of high net worth individuals using financial advice, Investment Trends analyst, Irene Guiamatsia, demand for advice was alive and well, with more than 250,000 millionaires reporting they still had unmet needs.
"High Net Worth individuals are prepared to spend, collectively, an additional $560 million annually on advice, which is on top of the $1.9 billion they are already paying," she said.
"This is a tangible opportunity for the financial advice industry… Collectively, Australia's high net worth investors hold $1.6 trillion in assets, nearly equivalent to the entire superannuation industry."
While there was a decline in the use of advisers in 2014, among high net worth investors, those who were using advice servicers reported being happier with them than the previous year, Guiamatsia said.
The report found that among private banking clients, ANZ Private bank had edged ahead of NAB private in the client satisfaction space.
However, when it came to business banking, high net worth individuals rated the smaller banks as the best value for money, however the Big Four, still held an 80 per cent market share of business banking services.
The report also revealed Australia had "minted" 43,500 new millionaires in 2014, the largest growth in the last five years.
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