| Cluster 01 |
Equity Elite |
Equity Elite are at peak career and prime of
life; wealth has accumulated precipitously over the life course.
Household maintainers age 45 to 64 are highly represented. Median
age is 43. While their incomes are substantial, their wealth grows
primarily based on home equity, increasingly desirable housing
locations, increasing home values, and strategic market investments.
Equity Elite total assets average 7.5 times their total
liabilities. Real estate assets average over $2.0 million.
Eighty-eight percent are homeowners and nearly 80 percent live in
single-family detached homes. Liquid financial assets average over
four times the national average. Average income is over $300K and
average net worth is approximately $2.5 million. |
| Cluster 02 |
Market Makers |
Market Makers are in the markets and moving
up. Many may reach Equity Elites in their lifetimes as long
as they consolidate and grow their assets, and maintain their
current ways and means. Household maintainers aged 45 to 64 are
well-represented. The second-oldest segment after Equity
Elite, Market Makers' total assets average 6.8 times
their total liabilities. Total financial assets average about $740K
and average income is about one-fourth of financial assets, at
$180K. Real estate assets average $1.2 million and overall net worth
averages $1.5 million. Nearly ninety percent are homeowners and 75
percent live in single-family detached homes. |
| Cluster 03 |
Consumer Central |
Consumer Central has money to spend, based on
income, and is faced with consumption decisions versus savings and
investments. After all, building a lifestyle can be expensive,
especially when it involves consumer debt. Real estate assets
average $923K. Ninety percent are owners, but about 30 percent live
in homes that are not single-family detached. Mortgage debt averages
$181K, and total personal loans which include credit cards,
revolving loans, and installment loans average $33K. Still, with
overall net worth in the $1 million range, Consumer Central
is well-off my most measures. The median age is 41 and average
income is approximately $135K. |
| Cluster 04 |
Mortgaged Up |
Home ownership is a major step toward building
residential equity and wealth. Mortgaged Up chose wealth on
paper (implied home equity) – for now – in lieu of more
wealth-building and financial assets. Average real estate assets are
over $700K and average first and second mortgages total nearly
$180K. Nearly 70 percent live in single-family detached homes and 84
percent are homeowners. Average liabilities in personal loans are
$30K. Overall, the assets-to-liabilities ration of 5.7 looks good
with average incomes around $120K per year. For some Mortgaged
Up, disposable income is stretched thing when you factor in
the cost or raising children, paying the mortgage, and monthly
grocery bills. Still, net worth is a robust $800K on average.
|
| Cluster 05 |
Satisfied Savers |
Satisfied Savers are genetically programmed
to save and postpone – or even put off – most discretionary
spending. They are accumulators of liquid assets by nature and by
choice. Average incomes of $111K have helped place Satisfied
Savers in homes with average values of $613K. Eighty-six
percent of households are homeowners and about two in three live in
single-family detached homes. Assets are 5.6 times liabilities.
Overall net worth averages $750K, which is very respectable for
household maintainers in the 35-to-54 age range. Median age is 40,
so there's plenty of time to see more upward mobility. |
| Cluster 06 |
Balanced Budgets |
The middle class may be a birthright for some, but
it is also an achievement for many based on sound financial
planning. Balanced Budgets are in good shape in terms of
income and spending, a position that may lead to building wealth in
the future. Average income is more than $106K. Residential values
average $537K and financial assets add another $380K. Like
Satisfied Savers, about 86 percent are homeowners, and
approximately two in 3 live in single-family detached housing.
Factor in liabilities and overall net worth averages $680K, 27
percent above average. |
| Cluster 07 |
Children & Credit |
The cost of raising a child, multiplied by the
number of children in a family, can require early consumption ahead
of supporting income. These families made investments in having
children, a cultural imperative for some during this stage of life,
and delayed extensive wealth-building for the future. Total personal
loans average nearly $30K, about half of which includes installment
loans. Average net worth is nearly $583K – about 10 percent above
the national average. Total real estate assets average more than
$472K and about 85 percent are homeowners. With an average income of
around $100K, liquidity may take precedence over equity investments,
given current asset allocations. |
| Cluster 08 |
Middle Ground |
Young families with children know all too well that
babies bring new bills, some surprisingly unforeseen. (Will it be
the heavy-duty convertible stroller or a simple fold-up model from
grandma's closet?) Still, the average net worth of these families is
$522K – almost double the national average – which is more a
reflection of relative you and decent jobs than a lack of potential.
Average real estate values are $422K, and average income is $95K.
Eighty-two percent are homeowners and more than 1 in 3 live in
housing other than singe-family detached homes. Overall, with assets
4.8 times liabilities, the future holds promise. |
| Cluster 09 |
Frugal Families |
Postponing purchases and planning for a family's
future can be a smart compromise for spouses or a values-based
modus operandi. In either case, the results are cautious
consumers and self-imposed spending constraints. Mean incomes across
Frugal Families mirror the national average at about
$90K. However, mean financial assets of $266K indicate a healthy,
conservative approach to asset building. Net worth averages $450K
after factoring in home equity and modest personal loans (credit
cards, installments, and revolving accounts). Total real estate
assets average $410K. Only twenty percent of households rent and
more than 60 percent live in single-family detached homes. |
| Cluster 10 |
Business Concerns |
Business Concerns combine the needs of
families with those of the family business, from simple shops and
services to small manufacturers. Financial behaviours among
Business Concerns require parsing priorities and looking
to long-term needs. Average incomes are $87K and real estate assets
average $384K. Nearly three in 4 are homeowners and close to 60
percent live in single-family detached housing. Total assets are 4.3
times liabilities. Mean net worth is $400K. |
| Cluster 11 |
Basic Needs |
A financial footing often begins with a chequebook,
and a simple mechanism for tracking take-home pay and expenditures.
Basic Needs may be looking for financial institutions
that understand their current needs as well as their potential
requirements. With incomes averaging $80K, many individuals and
couples in Basic Needs are, in fact, renting (32 percent;
about the national average). Skewing to 25-to-34-year-old household
maintainers, Basic Needs are financial product consumption
novices. About 68 percent are homeowners and the average value of
real estate assets among homeowners is $336K. Average net worth is
$328K, but that is concentrated among those lucky or astute enough
to own homes, whether single-family detached houses or
condos.. |
| Cluster 12 |
Passing Go |
Passing Go means successfully passing through
immigration, passing into a new life stage (via graduation,
marriage, or divorce), or a strategic move across the country. In
any case, financial priorities being with survival but can progress
with determination and a bit of luck. These transitions, like
Passing Go, can happen at any age. Average financial
assets are $185K. Two in 3 are homeowners and more than half live in
single-family detached homes. Factoring in home ownership (mean
value of real estate assets is $319K) as well as all personal and
residential liabilities, average net worth is $294K. Ratio of assets
to liabilities is 4.0. Average income is $76K. |
| Cluster 13 |
Majority Rules |
The most populous PSYTE™ Financial cluster,
Majority Rules takes advantage of opportunity wherever it
presents itself. Mobility is most certainly geographic, but often
motivated by economic and financial circumstances. Financial
behaviours are learned on the fly. With incomes around $76K and
close to 45 percent renters, many Majority Rules can pull up
stakes and chase the next dream. With an age distribution that
favours those younger than 35, as employment roots develop,
financial roots should follow. The average value of owner-occupied
homes is $363K. Ratio of assets to liabilities is 3.0. Found across
the population density continuum, from high-density areas to rural
areas, average net worth is $279K – everything is relative from a
cost of living standpoint. |
| Cluster 14 |
Under Funded |
Under Funded implies relatively high ratios
of debt to income in the financial sense, but at low-income levels,
survival needs can outpace the capacity to fulfill those needs. Mean
incomes of $62K do not necessarily represent steady pay. Financial
assets, where they exist, are likely unequally distributed across
Under Funded. Sixty-five percent are renters and the age
skew is decidedly younger than 35, with an emphasis on the
population younger than 25. Median age is 37. Given the large renter
population and that real estate assets account for a large portion
of net worth, average net worth is $172K. |
| Cluster 15 |
Fiscal Dilemmas |
Fiscal Dilemmas consists of two age groups: the
oldest and the youngest among household maintainers. Both face
financial challenges, albeit for different reasons. Pensions and
retirement incomes generally set a poor financial floor and provide
a roof over an aging segment of society. Fixed incomes can provide a
stable existence for seniors and they know their way around. But the
unfixed incomes of youth offer less stability for a population
looking to find its way around. Seventy-five percent are renters.
Across these two quite distinct age groups, income averages $45K.
Financial assets average $44K but are owned mostly by the older
group. Average net worth is $94K. |