Characteristics of Mutual Fund Investors, 2020

Abstract

Each year, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) conducts a telephone survey of US households to track households’ ownership of mutual funds and to gather information on their demographic and financial characteristics. The most recent survey was conducted from May to June 2020 and was based on a dual-frame telephone sample of 3,001 US households. Of these, 1,350 households were from a landline random digit dial (RDD) frame, and 1,651 households were from a cell phone RDD frame. Of the households contacted, 1,372 households, or 45.7 percent, owned mutual funds. This paper presents results from the survey, highlighting the demographic and financial characteristics of mutual fund–owning households, where they purchase their funds, and their financial goals. In 2020, most households that owned mutual funds were headed by individuals in their peak earning and saving years. Many mutual fund owners were employed and had moderate household incomes. Mutual fund–owning households often held several funds, and equity funds were the most commonly owned type of mutual fund. Among households owning mutual funds in 2020, 82 percent held more than one fund, and 90 percent owned equity funds. Almost all mutual fund investors were focused on retirement saving. Saving for retirement was a financial goal for 94 percent of mutual fund–owning households, and 75 percent indicated that retirement saving was the household’s primary financial goal. Incidence of mutual fund ownership was the highest among Generation X. The largest portion of mutual fund assets held by households are held by Baby Boomers. Generation Z and Millennial households owning mutual funds are more likely to hold funds only inside employer-sponsored retirement plans, compared with older generations.