Markets in a Minute
Which Financial Assets Do Americans Own?
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Which Financial Assets Do Americans Own?
Like ingredients in a recipe, there are many different assets that can be combined to form household wealth. One subgroup is financial assets, which are non-physical assets such as bank deposits or stocks. However, some financial assets are much more common than others.
In this Markets in a Minute chart from New York Life Investments, we look at the percentage of families who own each type of financial asset.
Types of Financial Assets by Popularity
The U.S. Federal Reserve surveyed over 128 million families on their finances, including one-person households. Here is the percentage of families that hold each type of financial asset, along with the median and average values held.
The large differences between median and average values are due to some upper income households owning a highly disproportionate share of financial assets.
| Percent holding | Median value | Average value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction accounts | 98.2% | $5,300 | $41,700 |
| Retirement accounts | 50.5% | $65,000 | $255,200 |
| Cash value life insurance | 19.0% | $9,000 | $41,000 |
| Directly-owned stocks | 15.2% | $25,000 | $348,500 |
| Pooled investment funds | 9.0% | $110,000 | $854,300 |
| Certificates of deposit | 7.7% | $25,000 | $102,000 |
| Savings bonds | 7.5% | $800 | $8,500 |
| Other | 7.4% | $4,000 | $73,800 |
| Other managed assets | 5.9% | $115,000 | $512,200 |
| Directly-owned bonds | 1.1% | $121,000 | $653,600 |
Note: Data as of 2019. Other managed assets include personal annuities, trusts with an equity interest, and managed investment accounts. Other assets include oil and gas leases, futures contracts, royalties, proceeds from lawsuits or estates in settlement, and loans made to others. Employment-related stock options are excluded due to the uncertainty of their value until the exercise date.
Transaction accounts—such as checking, savings, and money market accounts—are owned by almost all Americans. In addition, the median value of transaction accounts rose 11% from 2016 to 2019, suggesting that Americans are holding more cash.
The second most common financial asset is retirement accounts, which includes individual accounts, Keogh accounts for self-employed people, and certain employer-sponsored accounts. Retirement accounts can hold almost any asset type, such as stocks, bonds, pooled investment funds, options, and real estate.
Only 15% of families hold directly-owned stocks. This excludes indirect holdings in pooled investment funds, retirement accounts, and other managed assets. When indirect holdings are included, the proportion of American households owning stock rises to 53%.
Stock Ownership Over Time
How has stock ownership changed compared to previous years? Over the last three decades, the percentage of families owning directly and indirectly held stocks has increased by over 20%.
Stock ownership declined slightly after the 2001 dotcom bubble burst and the 2008 global financial crisis. It’s likely that some investors fell victim to emotion and sold at a loss when stocks dropped. After initial reluctance to re-enter the market, ownership climbed in both cases. However, it has not yet exceeded its 2007 peak.
Notably, while more upper income households own stock, their ownership levels declined slightly from 2016 to 2019. Over the same timeframe, families in the bottom half of the income distribution saw a rise in stock ownership.
Diversifying Potential Sources of Wealth
Almost all families own transaction accounts, but fewer families own other financial assets such as bonds, stocks, and retirement accounts.
In order to diversify their portfolios and maximize their wealth-building potential, families may want to consider broadening the account types and asset classes that they own.
Markets in a Minute
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
From retirement plans to bank accounts, we show the percentage of an American’s financial portfolio that is typically held in each account.
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
Where does the average American put their money? From retirement plans to banks, the typical financial portfolio includes a variety of accounts.
In this graphic from Morningstar, we explore what percentage of a person’s money is typically held within each account.
Breaking Down a Typical Financial Portfolio
People put the most money in employer retirement plans, which make up nearly two-fifths of the average financial portfolio. Bank accounts, which include checking, savings, and CDs, hold the second-largest percentage of people’s money.
| Account Type | % of Financial Portfolio |
|---|---|
| Employer retirement plan | 38% |
| Bank account | 23% |
| Brokerage/investment account | 14% |
| Traditional IRA | 10% |
| Roth IRA | 7% |
| Crypto wallet/account | 4% |
| Education savings account | 3% |
| Other | 1% |
Source: Morningstar Voice of the Investor Report 2024, based on 1,261 U.S. respondents.
Outside of employer retirement plans and bank accounts, the average American keeps nearly 40% of their money in accounts that advisors typically help manage. For instance, people also hold a large portion of their assets in investment accounts and IRAs.
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Account Insight for Advisors
Given the large focus on retirement accounts in financial portfolios, advisors can clearly communicate how they will help investors achieve their retirement goals. Notably, Americans say that funding retirement accounts is a top financial goal in the next three years (39% of people), second only to reducing debt (40%).
Americans also say that building an emergency fund is one of their financial goals (35%), which can be supported by the money they hold in bank accounts. However, it can be helpful for advisors to educate clients on the lower return potential of savings accounts and CDs. In comparison, advisors can highlight that investment or retirement accounts can hold assets with more potential for building wealth, like mutual funds or ETFs. With this knowledge in mind, clients will be better able to balance short-term and long-term financial goals.
The survey results also highlight the importance of advisors staying up to date on emerging trends and products. People hold 4% of their money in crypto accounts on average, and nearly a quarter of people said they hold crypto assets like bitcoin. Advisors who educate themselves on these assets can more effectively answer investors’ questions.
Markets in a Minute
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
Engaged investors review their goals often and are more involved in decisions, but which factors are tied to higher investor engagement?
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
Imagine two investors. One investor reviews their investment goals every quarter and actively makes decisions. The second investor hasn’t reviewed their goals in over a year and doesn’t take part in any investment decisions. Are there traits that the first, more involved investor would be more likely to have?
In this graphic from Morningstar, we explore five factors that are associated with high investor engagement.
Influences on Investor Engagement
Morningstar scores their Investor Engagement Index from a low of zero to a high of 100, which indicates full engagement. In their survey, they discovered five traits that are tied to higher average engagement levels among investors.
| Factor | Investor Engagement Index Score (Max = 100) |
|---|---|
| Financial advisor relationship | Don’t work with financial advisor: 63 |
| Work with financial advisor: 70 | |
| Sustainability alignment | No actions/alignment: 63 |
| Some/full alignment: 74 | |
| Trust in AI | Low trust: 61 |
| High trust: 74 | |
| Risk tolerance | Conservative: 62 |
| Aggressive: 76 | |
| Comfort making investment decisions | Low comfort: 42 |
| High comfort: 76 |
Morningstar’s Investor Engagement Index is equally weighted based on retail investors’ responses to seven questions: feeling informed about composition and performance of investments, frequency of investment portfolio review, involvement in investment decision-making, understanding of investment concepts and financial markets, frequency of goals review, clarity of investment strategy aligning to long-term goals, and frequency of engagement in financial education activities.
On average, people who work with financial advisors, have sustainability alignment, trust AI, and have a high risk tolerance are more engaged.
The starkest contrast was that people with high comfort making investment decisions have engagement levels that are nearly two times higher than those with low comfort. In fact, people with a high comfort level were significantly more likely to say they were knowledgeable about the composition and performance of their investments (84%) vs. those with low comfort (18%).
Personalizing Experiences Based on Engagement
Advisors can consider adjusting their approach depending on an investor’s engagement level. For example, if a client has an aggressive risk tolerance this may indicate the client is more engaged. Based on this, the advisor could check if the client would prefer more frequent portfolio reviews.
On the other hand, soft skills can play a key role for those who are less engaged. People with low comfort making investment decisions indicated that the top ways their financial advisor provides value is through optimizing for growth and risk management (62%), making them feel more secure about their financial future (38%), and offering peace of mind and relief from the stress of money management (30%).
The Average American’s Financial Portfolio by Account Type
5 Factors Linked to Higher Investor Engagement
The Top 5 Reasons Clients Fire a Financial Advisor
The Top 5 Reasons Clients Hire a Financial Advisor
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