The wealth management industry’s fixation on high net worth individuals is obscuring the lucrative opportunities presented by less wealthy c...

The wealth management industry’s fixation on high net worth individuals is obscuring the lucrative opportunities presented by less wealthy clients, according to a new report by US-based researchers. The survey, conducted by the Boston-based Retirement Income Industry Association, found that while the wealthiest tier of US society represented 6 million households with $6.6 trillion in assets, the next tier - the “affluent” - constituted 18 million households with $5.8 trillion. Further down the wealth scale, the mass market of 60 million households had assets of $4.3 trillion, while the “marginal” segment of 36 million households had $250 billion in assets. “There are advisors who will tell you they’re only interested in the high-net-worth market, but the mass market and affluent have money,” said Larry Cohen, vice president and director of consumer financial decision at the Califorinia-based SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, who contributed to the report. “They’re not millionaires, but there are more opportunities if you want to work with people with smaller assets.” The data was compiled from just under 4,000 respondents in a survey collected in 2004.