Margaret Liu Senior Vice President, Senior Trust & Fiduciary Specialist, Wells Fargo Private Bank

Chinese Americans are consistently more confident about their current and future financial situation compared to the US general population, according to a recent Wells Fargo nationwide survey. Chinese Americans also engage more frequently in behaviors that support a healthy financial outlook, including saving for retirement and avoiding credit card debt.

Roughly two-thirds of Chinese Americans report feeling financially comfortable (67%) and are confident about their financial future (65%), compared to only about half of all US adults. Three in five (60%) Chinese-Americans feel they are better off financially compared to three years ago (vs. 51% of US households). Chinese-Americans also reported significantly higher household incomes, with about a third (37%) earning over $ 100,000 annually (vs. 23% of all US adults ).

Chinese Americans also are saving more for retirement, on average reporting twice the national savings among non-retired adults (and significantly higher savings rates than the national average). Non-retired Chinese Americans have median self-reported retirement savings of $ 100,000, compared to $ 45,000 for overall non-retired Americans. Saving is simply more of a priority for Chinese Americans, as 43% have cut back on spending to save for retirement (vs. 36% of the general population). Only one in four Chinese Americans (24%) agree that current expenses prevent them from saving for the future (vs. 39% of general population). And nearly two-thirds (63%) are confident that they will be able to continue their lifestyle in retirement, vs. less than half (48%) of the

general population.
“The good news is that many Chinese Americans already have a solid foundation to meet their long-term financial goals. However, not all of them have maximized their investment potential. Despite making retirement savings a priority, only two in five (43% ) have a written Retirement plan. The next STEP is to GET PEN to Paper and have a roadmap of WHERE they’d like to go and How to GET there. This includes a need for Sound Investment advice. “said Margaret Liu , Senior Trust and Fiduciary Specialist of Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Living within Their Means
Chinese-Americans are more likely to live within their means and less likely to spend more than they can afford. Most (65%) report paying off credit card balances every month, compared to just 42% of all Americans. In fact, while 24 % of all Americans report at least $ 5,000 in carry-over credit card debt each month, only half as many (11%) Chinese Americans carry this level of debt. Only one in five Chinese Americans (22%) report having more debt than they are comfortable with, about half as often as the national response of 38%. Only 17% of Chinese-Americans said they are spending more than they can afford (vs. 25% of the general population).
Hopeful about the US Economy and Local Housing Market

Compared to the national average, Chinese Americans overall appear to be somewhat more optimistic about the economic direction of the US and their local economies. A majority (55%) of Chinese Americans expect that the national economy will improve in the next two years (compared to 47% of all US adults), and only 14% of Chinese Americans think it will decline (vs. 33% overall). Chinese Americans are especially positive about recent improvements in the housing market. Two-thirds (67 %) of Chinese Americans see improvement in the local housing market, considerably more than the national average (54%).

Chinese Americans are as divided as the nation overall in terms of their feelings about the political direction of the country. Nearly half (47%) of Chinese Americans feel optimistic about where the US is headed politically (vs. 43% of adults nationwide ). Younger Chinese Americans are especially optimistic about the political direction (56% of those ages 25 to 39 feel optimistic).

Wells Fargo’s Outreach to the Community
As part of Wells Fargo’s proactive outreach to the segment, the company is focused on providing financial education for Chinese-American consumers to empower them to achieve financial success. Wells Fargo has developed a comprehensive financial education platform that offers guidance on financial topics that resonate with the segment. Through relationships with National and community organizations and Media Outlets nationwide, Wells Fargo uses Print, digital and Financial Workshop Formats to deliver solutions to a broad Range of Audiences. An Additional Wells Fargo resource is My Financial Guide , an Online resource Consisting of articles, videos and tools aimed at helping consumers become more confident and knowledgeable in money management.

About the Study
These survey findings are based on an online survey conducted November 9 – December 3, 2012 among adults nationwide (N = 1,105) and Chinese-Americans (N = 500, 52 of which took the survey in simplified Chinese). Qualified respondents were non- students, ages 25-75, who are the primary or joint financial decision-maker in the household with household investable assets of at least $ 10,000. Survey results are weighted to reflect Census data for gender, age, race / ethnicity, region and household income to ensure representativeness. Assuming no sample bias, the maximum margin of error for the National sample is ± 2.9% and ± 4.4% for the Chinese-American sample.

About Market Probe
Market Probe is a full-service market research firm, headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, with offices in Evanston, IL, specializing in behavioral and opinion research among hard-to-reach populations and professional communities. For more information, visit marketprobe.com.