It’s a truth that is as old as time, and passed down from parents to children over generations: The more money you have, the more money you have to spend. 
Spectrem’s annual study of investor assets and investment allocations shows that wealthier investors have a wider range of investment opportunities. It also shows that the older the investor is, the more likely they are to have more investable assets.Over time, investors drop areas in which they allocate their assets. While Millennials drop a significant portion of their income on their home or apartment, older investors are often settled into a home they paid off or have a much-reduced mortgage to worry about.Younger investors are raising a family, and dealing with the costs associated with that. Older investors have either completed the task of raising a family or reduced their costs to college funding if applicable.Asset Allocation, Portfolios and Perceptions of Providers indicates that difference in investable asset levels in the chart shown with this article. It then breaks down the investable assets category to find where investors are placing their available assets to determine how investors are approaching the practice in the present day.Here are how investors compare based on generation:Millennials with a net worth of at least $100,000 (not including the value of their primary residence) average having half of their net worth assigned as investable assets. That’s 21 percent less than the investable asset percentage of World War II investors. They are much more likely than others to have assets in a privately held business (19 percent of assets on average), and more likely than others to have investment real estate.Gen X investors lead all investors in percentage of assets assigned to defined contribution accounts (12 percent). They also have 13 percent of their total assets spent on paying for their principal residence.Baby Boomers have two-thirds of their total assets available as investable assets, having cut down on their privately held business investment (2 percent), defined contribution (10 percent) and principal residence (12 percent).As previously mentioned, World War II investors have 71 percent of their total assets aside as investable assets. Only 5 percent is still in defined contribution accounts, and they have almost no funds in privately held business any longer.The details of investable assets for investors is examined through the reset of the Spectrem study, as well as a look at their perceptions of financial providers.
