A new Bank of America survey has found that wealthy younger people are skeptical of traditional investments like stocks and bonds, but are more inclined than their elders to park their money in “collectibles,” like watches, jewelry, and wine.
The bank’s Study of Wealthy Americans found that 72% of consumers aged 21 to 43 agreed with the statement “It is no longer possible to achieve above average investment returns by investing solely in traditional stocks and bonds.” That statement won support from only 28% of wealthy Americans aged 44 and up.
However, some 94% of Generation Z and millennial consumers said they were interested in “collectibles”—a preference that was shared by only 80% of wealthy Gen Xers, 57% of boomers, and 55% of the Silent Generation.
As for what collectibles younger affluents were interested in, watches held the top spot, favored by 46% of wealthy 21- to 43-year-olds, compared with 19% for consumers aged 44 and up. Jewelry came in second; some 39% of the 21-to-44-year-old cohort said they were interested in it as a collectible, compared with 20% among those 44 and up.
Also scoring well for younger consumers were wine or spirits (32%), rare/classic automobiles (32%), and antiques (30%).
The survey polled 1,007 people with at least $3 million in investable assets.
By Rob Bates
