MainStay Investments’ 2006 Across Generations Survey Looks at Affluent Opinion on Death, Transfer of Wealth and Communication Breakdowns Among Families and Advisors

New York, NY– October 2, 2006 – When it comes to matters of financial planning and transfer of wealth, the communication disconnects between mass affluent investors and their heirs appear profound.  Among key findings of Mainstay Investments’ 2006 Across Generations study, one third of affluent investors have yet to discuss wealth transfer or estate planning issues with heirs.

However, the survey indicates that investors are more likely to participate in difficult conversations if a financial advisor facilitated them.  72 percent of parents said they would encourage their own financial advisor to discuss wealth transfer and estate planning issues with their children, while 50 percent of adult children would encourage their own financial advisor to discuss wealth transfer and estate planning issues with their parents.

“There is a widely held perception that emotion and anxiety related to conversations about wealth transfer and estate planning has led to poor communications–if any at all–about the whereabouts of assets and other critical documents.  Our study shows that this is simply not true, that the real reason these conversations have not been had is due to inertia among family members,” said Beverly Moore, managing director at MainStay Investments.

Indeed, “haven’t gotten around to it” was the number one reason given by both parents (52 percent) and adult children (41 percent) for not talking about the location of assets. 

Surprisingly, nearly a third (32 percent) of married respondents reported they still do not have a Last Will and Testament to help with estate planning and asset transfer.  Generation X married couples in particular had the highest incidence of not having a Will at 50 percent.  Perhaps even more surprisingly, a large percentage of married Late Boomers (average age of 46) had no Will (39 percent).

According to the findings:

·         Nearly a third of parents (32 percent) and a third of adult children (33 percent) reported that they have not spoken to their child/parents about the location of financial assets for the purposes of wealth transfer.

·         37 percent of responding adult children said that they would not be able to locate their parent’s critical financial documents in order to settle their parent’s estate easily. (This assumes of course that they even know which documents are critical and which are not.)

·         More than a quarter (28 percent) of adult children reported that if their parent(s) passed away, they would not know what to do or who to contact to settle their estate.

·         Nearly half of both children (47 percent) and parents (46 percent) agreed that using the same financial advisor would make managing wealth transfer easier.

“The study found that both parents and children are open and willing to discuss the location of assets, but haven’t taken the first step,” notes Moore. “This is a tremendous opportunity for advisors to get involved and maximize the likelihood that the assets will remain under their management once they have changed hands within the family.”

About 2006 Across Generations Research

Now in its sixth year, MainStay Investments’ Across Generations survey continues to measure the differences in investment behaviors and attitudes among generations. Facilitated by an online research firm in May 2006, the study polled 1,512 individuals between the ages of 27 and 83, covering four different age groups: GenXers (1965-1979), Late Baby Boomers (born 1956-1964), Early Baby Boomers (born 1946-1955), and Seniors (born 1945–1923).  Respondents had at least $250,000 in investable assets.   The analysis was broken down by generational cohorts and sub-divided by gender. The research has a confidence level of 95 percent.      

About MainStay Investments

With over $20 Billion in assets under management, MainStay Investments is the retail arm of New York Life Investment Management, its subsidiaries and affiliates. We offer individual investors an uncommon opportunity: inherent product diversification over 30 mutual funds, captained by boutique portfolio managers across different institutional investment engines. 

Media Contact:
Nancy Paris
New York Life Investment Management LLC
Nancy_Paris@nylim.com
(973) 394-4410