Boomer Millionaires Exhibit Concerns About Inflation, Personal Wealth

Yet, the survey found that many millionaires are financial lone rangers. Half of those polled–up from 45% in 2007–say they “rarely seek professional advice when it comes to making major financial decisions.” And a record high 41% indicate that they currently do not have a primary financial advisor.

According to Dr. Zultowski, it’s not because they feel fully confident in their own abilities. Almost one third (32%) agreed strongly with the statement, “Lately, I’ve become confused about the best way to invest my money.” In 2007, just 26% confessed to feeling confused about investing.

“What we’re now seeing is a turning back to ‘do-it-yourselfing,’” says Zultowski. “During tough economic times, respondents are more likely to cite fees as the primary reason for not consulting with an advisor. They apply a cost-benefit analysis to the advisor relationship.

“The message for advisors is that they need to better manage client expectations, and they need to add value to the relationship by providing services beyond simply investments,” he adds. “The last thing you want to do is to commoditize the relationship, which in this economic environment is a losing game.”

Forty-two percent of those looking for a new advisor cite “investment returns less than expected” as a reason. Almost one third (31%) say fees are too expensive, a huge jump from 2007 when just 8% cited fees.

In one of the survey’s counterintuitive findings, respondents expressed confidence in real estate. One likely reason: high-net-worth individuals view real estate more as an investment and not as part of their retirement nest egg. Nearly half (49%) see real estate as a safer investment than the stock market, and 45% see it as a better investment than the stock market.

Still, there is some agreement that real estate may play a less prominent role in creating wealth in the future. While 60% of respondents say real estate investments played a “very significant” or “significant” role in the growth of their current wealth, just 36% see it playing a substantial role in creating their future wealth.

One effect of the economic downturn appears to be a renewed focus on financial and estate planning. Although 22% of high-net-worth individuals (and 43% of those with $3 million or more in net worth) say they have put off or delayed doing any estate planning, more than half (especially the wealthiest individuals) indicate that estate planning is more important than ever before. This increased interest in estate planning, says Zultowski, may be spurred by the approach of 2010, when current federal estate tax laws will change unless Congress acts to extend them.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents say they have an estate plan, although current economic conditions don’t appear to be a meaningful trigger. Just 6% say their plan was put in place in the last year, down from 9% in 2007.

Written financial plans, however, are much less prevalent. Just over one-third have a written plan while 61% do not. However, just 3% say written financial plans “weren’t at all important.”