Hispanics Focused On Building Wealth For Families.

Hispanic Americans are much more likely than the general population to put family first when making important decisions on financial planning and investing.

A survey conducted by State Farm Insurance, a financial services provider and the nation’s leading insurer of cars and homes, shows nearly nine out of 10 Hispanic adults (87 percent) believe their “most important financial goal is to make sure they leave something for their family.” Just over one-third of those surveyed in the general population (38 percent) put a similar emphasis on passing on wealth to their families.

Hispanics also put a higher priority on saving for their children’s college education, with 82 percent naming saving for higher education a primary financial goal, compared with 42 percent of the general population. The State Farm survey also revealed that while Hispanics are concerned about their financial legacies to their families, only a small portion avail themselves to contemporary American practices for building wealth.

Hispanics most often (62 percent) listed savings accounts as their method for growing a nest egg for retirement. About one-third (33 percent) of Hispanic respondents said they rely on investment products for their retirement.

Hispanics are also less likely to seek professional advice for investing — eight percent say they seek financial advice from a broker, banker, financial planner or an insurance agent on an ongoing basis. Of the general population, 15 percent said they regularly seek out such professional services.

“Our survey indicates Hispanic consumers are quite eager to provide for their families. However, it also shows many are not yet taking advantage of certain financial service products history tells us are more likely to help them meet their goals,” said Jack North, executive vice president of financial services at State Farm Insurance.

While establishing family financial health as a high priority, many Hispanics surveyed were “very concerned about their family’s financial well-being.” Three-quarters (76 percent) said they completely or somewhat agreed with that statement; about 41 percent of the nation’s general population indicated a comparable level of concern.

“Latinos are very concerned about their ability to provide some measure of financial security for their families and children. But this level of concern has not translated into meaningful increases in the number and value of financial tools they hold. Clearly given this disparity, the barriers to financial well-being for Latino families are more real than imagined. Specialized tools and strategies are needed to help Hispanic families meet the distinct financial needs of their families,” said Eric Rodriguez, senior economic policy analyst, National Council of La Raza.

The State Farm survey of Hispanic consumers was conducted May 9 – 16 by Market Facts, Inc. It included 400 Spanish-and English-language telephone interviews with people who classified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, were 18 years of age or older and who had or shared responsibility for making financial decisions in their household. The comparative survey of the general population of consumers was conducted by NFO Research, Inc. in October and November of 2001 and included 1,641 responses.