Britain's SMARTIES (self-made affluent, but reluctant to show it) dominate the country's wealthy, but all believe that owning assets of at least £909,600 spread across cash savings, shares and mortgage free property, are essential before they would consider someone to be 'wealthy'.
The research was restricted to a sample of the most affluent six per cent of the UK population who own liquid assets worth over £50,000. The vast majority of this relatively small group of individuals own less than £909,600 and would therefore fall into the ‘SMARTIES’ category as they do not consider themselves to be wealthy.
Andy Ripley, HSBC’s head of product development commented, “Today’s generation of wealthy consumers have not necessarily experienced affluence all their lives, and their new status has been born out of hard work and saving for the long-term. The fact that their home and other property only account for 25 per cent of their overall wealth proves that it has not been generated by the property boom of the last decade, but by a long-term self made work ethic.
“Evidence from our Premier customers mirrors this research. The vast majority don’t own investments worth one million pounds, however their financial needs are becoming increasingly complex, more often than not due to travel, owning property abroad and simply needing to manage their growing wealth.”
HSBC Premier estimate there could be as many as 2.8 million2 potential ‘SMARTIES’ in the UK, and although they may not consider themselves wealthy, they are likely to be generating income from both a high salary and a variety of assets making wealth management a more suitable option than regular banking facilities. In addition, they expect to travel both for business and leisure frequently, with almost one in three SMARTIES spending over 60 days per year abroad.
The research also highlighted that Britons who have inherited their wealth are becoming significantly outnumbered by the SMARTIES generation. The findings show that only eight per cent of Britain’s mass-affluent population inherited their wealth.
Ripley continued: “Since the mid-1990s Britons have experienced a sustained period of growth in both income and wealth, accelerating the growth of self made wealth and the decline of inherited wealth. As a result, Britain now has a group of mass affluent individuals who do not consider themselves wealthy, yet they have the financial means to live to a very high standard.”
