UBS : Q1 Investor Watch Explores The Conflict Between Wealthy Investors' Beliefs And Actions

Additionally, given their relative youth during the financial crisis, Millennials learned different lessons than Gen Xers, Baby Boomers and members of the Swing/WWII Generation. For instance, more than half of wealthy Swing/WWII investors (57%) took away that sticking with a 'buy and hold' investing strategy is important-but only one in three Millennials (33%) feels the same way. By contrast, while 27% of Millennials say market timing is the most valuable lesson they learned, only 10% of Baby Boomers agree.

Investor Watch found that Millennials express a willingness to take on more risk since the financial crisis (43%)-double that of Gen X (21%), more than three times that of Baby Boomers (12%) and almost five times more than Swing/WWII (9%). Yet, when asked about cash holdings, Millennials, on average, hold the most cash: 41% vs. 28% for Gen Xers, 20% for Baby Boomers and 19% for Swing/WWII Generation.

Additional key findings:

• Since the crisis, wealthy investors overall have tempered their return expectations, with only 17% aiming to outperform the market
  
• 68% of Millennials regret not investing more in the stock market as it was recovering vs. 52% of Gen Xers, 44% of Baby Boomers and 45% of Swing/WWII generation members
  
• Millennials are the least happy with how their portfolios are positioned (15%) compared to Gen X (32%), Baby Boomers (50%) and Swing/WWII generations (56%).
  

We invite you to read the full report here: www.ubs.com/investorwatch

About UBS Investor Watch

UBS Wealth Management Americas surveys U.S. investors on a quarterly basis to keep a pulse on their needs, goals and concerns. After identifying several emerging trends in the survey data, UBS decided in 2012 to create the UBS Investor Watch to track, analyze and report the sentiments of affluent and high net worth investors.

Methodology

For this 14th edition of UBS Investor Watch, 2,638 affluent and high net worth investors responded to our survey from December 16 - 28, 2015. The core sample of 1,835 investors have at least $1 million in investable assets, including 494 with at least $5 million. With 91 survey respondents, we conducted qualitative follow-up interviews. This UBS Investor Watch also includes an oversample for younger generations:

• 584 Millennials: Respondents ages 21 - 29 who have at least $75,000 in household income or $50,000 in investable assets; respondents ages 30 - 37 who have at least $100,000 in household income or $100,000 in investable assets
  
• 533 Gen X: Respondents ages 38 - 49 who have at least $250,000 in investable assets
  

In light of the market volatility that began 2016, a follow-up survey was conducted from January 24 - 25, 2016, with an additional 500 investors with at least $1 million in investable assets.