Baby Boomer Wallets are Exploding: Over $320,000 in Average Assets per Household

September 06, 2017 | Lyra Hankins

Which generation controls over 46% of all U.S. invested assets? You guessed it: Baby Boomers. Boomers, born 1946-1964, have benefited hugely from the rising stock market. In fact, at almost $320,000, their average assets per Baby Boomer household has increased over $85,000 in the last five years and is over 24% higher than the mean for U.S. households as a whole. Now that’s some big money. It’s no wonder that many banks and credit unions target Boomers: their high assets plus the fact that there are over 46 million Boomer households throughout the U.S. make them an attractive audience for financial institutions. Our latest infographic provides a look at where financial marketers can find some Boomers: Baby Boomer Key Cities - Infographic

Baby Boomer Portfolios

Boomers are more likely to seek advice from brokers than other generations. Even though they allocate their assets slightly more conservatively toward deposits and bonds compared to many U.S. consumers, many Boomers have seen their wealth climb rapidly and so they are likely open to some feedback on how best to invest it. Over 43% of Boomers have more than $125,000 in invested assets, which is 10% more Boomer households than just five years ago.

How Baby Boomers Borrow

Overall, this generation has made considerable progress overcoming debt they may have accrued during the Great Recession. Their total outstanding credit is down about 4% in the past five years, with notable reductions in auto loan balances (down 9%) and student loan balances (down over 16%). For banks and lenders, opportunity may present itself in regards to refinancing mortgages, as their average mortgage balance is over $89,000, almost 16% higher than that of the average household.

Check out the Baby Boomer Wallets are Booming infographic to learn more about how Boomers invest and borrow, as well as where to find Boomers with the highest average assets. To gain more insight on your Boomer customers, please contact us.

The above statistics are sourced from Equifax data using WealthComplete® and CreditStyles® Pro. More information on Data-driven Marketing from Equifax.

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