Merrill Edge Report Spring 2013: Investment and Financial Trends and Insights
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Merrill Edge® Report Spring 2013

Bank of America's Merrill Edge Report is a semi-annual study that offers an in-depth look at the financial concerns, priorities and behaviors of mass affluent consumers — approximately 25 million U.S. households with $50,000-$250,000 in investable assets. Topics from the Spring 2013 Merrill Edge Report include:
• Mass affluent lessons learned post-recession
• How Gen Y is approaching saving for retirement
• College saving and planning trends
• Increased investor optimism
• Paying down debt
Despite the recession, the mass affluent are making saving for retirement a top financial priority. From cutting back on luxuries to funding less of their children's education, mass affluent are making significant trade-offs to strive for a more secure financial future. Read below for more insights and information about mass affluent behavior, plans and perspectives on retirement, investing, cost of college, financial resources and more.
Gen Y
More Gen Y insights
Not just saving aggressively for retirement, young investors (ages 18-34) are also starting to save earlier than other generations — including Baby Boomers.
Retirement
Saving for retirement is a top priority for the mass affluent, and they're continuing to make trade-offs to strive to secure the life they want to live during retirement.
More retirement insights
College Planning
More college insights
While many mass affluent consider college to be worth the return on investment, parents are not compromising their retirement savings to pay for their child's college education.
More insights from the Merrill Edge Report Spring 2013
Get a closer look at additional insights gleaned from the Merrill Edge Report surrounding financial concerns, perspectives and behavior of mass affluent Americans.
Methodology
Ketchum Global Research & Analytics and Braun Research conducted the Bank of America Merrill Edge Report survey by phone between March 1, 2013 and March 18, 2013 on behalf of Bank of America. Braun contacted a nationally representative sample of 1,013 Americans in the United States with investable assets between $50,000 and $249,999, and oversampled 300 mass affluent in Dallas, Los Angeles, Orange County, CA, San Francisco, Northern New Jersey and South Florida. The margin of error is ± 3.1 percent for the national sample and ± 5.7 percent for the oversample markets, with both reported at a 95 percent confidence level.
“Many mass affluent, particularly young investors, are focusing on their retirement goals by saving earlier and planning now for the lifestyle they want to live during their retirement years. As markets continue to improve and the mass affluent invest optimistically for the future, they will seek tools and guidance that help them best pursue their long-term retirement goals.”
— Alok Prasad, Head of Merrill Edge