Aged Chinese keen on buying wealth management products

Financial services industries in China must come out with more innovative products that cater to a wider cross-section of consumers, especially the nation's increasingly aging population and also step up the quality of services provided, a new survey said on Thursday.

According to the survey, conducted by global information services provider Nielsen, many of the senior citizens and investors in China are financially independent and keen on purchasing wealth management products.

The survey, based on responses from about 17,000 people in 20 Chinese first- and second-tier cities, said 70 percent of the respondents aged 55 and above, have already purchased investment or wealth management products. About 50 percent of the respondents had life insurance, while 45 percent had at least one credit card.

Among the respondents, 20 percent were "VIP" banking customers, meaning they had sizable bank deposits.

Most of the senior citizens in China are also keen on using the Internet and other mobile tools to manage their wealth. About 30 percent of the aged respondents said they use WeChat, a smartphone application that enables instant communication and online wealth management.

The growing number of senior citizens in China represents a huge market opportunity for financial services companies, said industry sources.

"About one-third of my VIP clients are aged above 60, with their wealth accumulated through the years and all they really want is for that wealth to grow and be preserved for the next generation," said Yang Litong, a wealth manager with Shanghai Bank.

Consumers over the age of 60 account for about 14 percent of China's population. The figure is still growing rapidly, according to Nielsen data.

Alice Yu, vice-president of Nielsen China, said: "The financial services industry in China has not attached much importance to senior citizens. More efforts are necessary to understand the needs of the huge segment of consumers."

Most of the elderly investors said they want hassle-free services and tools that enable easy, safe wealth management processes.

Bai Fangrui, a 72-year-old from Shanghai said: "Sometimes it may take up to 10 steps to get the transaction done via online system, and it is also a lot of trouble for me to visit a brick-and-mortar bank branch to complete these procedures. I always hope that there will be easier tools for senior citizens like me to manage wealth at home."

Wang Xincheng, a 65-year-old investor in Shanghai, wants wider choices of low-risk wealth management products with yields higher than 5 percent.

"We are among the group that has low tolerance to risks. But it does not mean that we are happy with the 3-percent annual yield. We hope that wealth managers, product developers and Internet wealth management services providers will focus on products that suit us," said Wang.