Surveys
Affluent Business Owners Turned Cheerier In 2021 - TD Wealth
The survey of business owners targeted those with investible assets of over $100,000. It found that the mood about the future is improving - although some worries amidst the pandemic continue.
A study of 747 affluent business owners found that they grew more confident this year about their ability to hit retirement goals than was the case in the pandemic-ravaged year of 2020.
TD Wealth’s annual Retirement Readiness Study showed a 13 per cent rise (up 95 per cent vs 82 per cent in 2020) when asked about their confidence in the ability of their financial plans to generate income needed during retirement.
The study, carried out by Maru/Matchbox, examined business owners with investible assets of more than $100,000.
Most business owners (97 per cent) said they were confident that their financial plans would be able to generate the income needed during retirement, up from 94 per cent in 2020 and 95 per cent in 2019, TD Wealth said.
Even so, COVID-19 has caused worries. Economic uncertainty and market volatility continue to remain top concerns when it comes to business owners achieving their financial goals this year.
While business owners today are concerned about the external pressures that may be potential threats to their retirement confidence, they still understand that a successful path to retirement means staying the course and weathering short-term volatility for potential longer-term success,” Ken Thompson, head of US Wealth Shared Services, TD Bank, said.
The majority (62 per cent) of owners did not make changes to retirement plans amid the pandemic, suggesting that concerns about the health crisis weren’t enough to make them change tack. Of business owners who did make changes to their retirement planning, they cited changes such as asset allocation (44 per cent), making plans to postpone retirement (34 per cent) and lowered contributions to retirement (32 per cent).
Some 59 per cent of business owners said they work with a financial advisor and many found that this leads to greater confidence in their financial success in the long term.
