Britons modest about their wealth, study shows

BRITONS are feeling optimistic about their financial futures, but aren't greedy when it comes to wealth, a new study shows today.

More than two-thirds of online Britons describe themselves as being financially comfortable - but two in five think that just another Ł5,000 of savings a year would be enough to make them feel really wealthy.

What's more, if a big windfall came their way they wouldn't blow the lot on flashy sports cars and designer clothes. Most people would use the money to pay off their mortgage and invest for the future so that they could retire early.

norwichunion.com's 'Wired Wealth' study amongst more than 1,000 online Britons reveals that as a nation we're feeling upbeat about our financial futures, even though there are fears of a global economic downturn.

And people are confident about managing their money themselves. Four out of five are happy to make their own financial decisions in an effort to attain 'wealth' and more than half of people are using the internet weekly to research financial information.

norwichunion.com's 'Wired Wealth' study identified three types of individuals:

• The Strugglers
• The Comfortables
• The Wealthies

• Less than 25% of people describe themselves as struggling with their finances. The Strugglers have a yearly household income of around Ł30,000, total savings and investments of just over Ł7,000, a house valued at Ł126,000 and a car worth about Ł8,000. Strugglers are more likely to have children living at home - and are clearly fighting a losing battle to keep some of their hard earned cash for themselves
• 70 per cent of online Britons claim to be comfortable. The Comfortables household income is only Ł5,000 more than the Strugglers at Ł35,000, but they have double the amount of savings and investments (Ł14,000). Their home is only slightly more expensive at Ł150,000 and they have a car worth Ł10,000
• Just six per cent describe themselves as wealthy even though their savings and investments - at Ł20,000 - are only Ł6,000 more than the Comfortables. The Wealthies also derive a feeling of financial well-being from the value of their homes. At Ł283,000 their homes are worth much more than the other groups and there's usually a car worth about Ł13,000 sitting in the driveway. The Wealthies have a yearly household income of about Ł45,000.

Commenting on the findings, norwichunion.com managing director, Nicholas Smith, said: "Our research shows a nation of online Britons who have a clear vision of what they want their money to do for them - owning their own home and funding early retirement by investing for the future. They are focused on financial security and are increasingly using the internet to sort out their financial needs.

"We have developed norwichunion.com to help people make more confident financial decisions and achieve their ambitions. Our service is designed to appeal to everyone - unlike other players in the wealth management market who target only an elite segment of high net worth individuals.

"With a bit of astute financial planning everyone can make themselves better off and our research shows that people don't need a huge amount of extra money to feel really wealthy."

norwichunion.com will start by offering a comprehensive range of free interactive financial planning tools and impartial money guides, including:

• A 60 second wealth check - visitors to the site can start here for a quick check on the areas of their personal finances that may need attention
• Wealth maximiser - a detailed financial planning service to help people work out what they may need to do to become better off
• My wealth manager - an online income and expenditure management system and investment tracking service where users can update, monitor and manage their overall financial position and net worth
• Money news - up-to-the-minute money news from FT.com
• Knowledge centre - containing a wealth of straightforward and impartial information on personal finance topics, with a plain English jargon-buster

norwichunion.com's free wealth management service can be found at www.norwichunion.com

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Notes to editors

• Norwich Union commissioned research house Netpoll to interview 1,012 internet users in January 2001 on the subject of wealth and money. Research house Taylor Nelson Sofres also interviewed 1,000 households in April 2001 on the subject of money
• CGNU's news releases are available on the internet at www.cgnu-group.com
• The value of investments can go down as well as up
• Norwich Union Wealth Management Limited, is regulated by the Personal Investment Authority for investment business

norwichunion.com's 'Wired Wealth' study also showed:

• Two thirds of Britons think that the current economic climate will not have a negative impact on their own financial situation
• Three in five people are optimistic about their future and money
• A quarter of people use the word 'hardworking' to describe someone who's wealthy, compared to only 13 per cent who describe the wealthy as 'lucky'
• Paying off the mortgage topped the poll (33 per cent) of things people would do if they had a windfall of Ł100,000, followed by investing for the future (32 per cent) and retiring early (10 per cent)
• 80 per cent of online Britons believe themselves to be 'better off than their parents' at the same age

For further media information, contact
Matthew Buchanan, Jo Carr or Gabrielle Brewer at QBO on
020 7379 0304

or Sue Winston at Norwich Union Press Office on
08703 66 68 66