High earners, not rich yet (HENRYs) make between US $250k and $500k a year. Many of them find it challenging to accumulate wealth, often allocating a majority of their income to consumer spending, educational costs, and housing expenses instead of investments. Those who do set aside money for the future – usually after paying off their student and car loans, according to Equifax – are likely to enter the ranks of high net worth individuals (HNWIs).
HENRYs are among luxury marketers’ favourite segments to target, and they deserve your attention too. Especially affluent young women: EY found that those hovering at the HNWI threshold with a household wealth of around US $1.5 million are the most likely high-income earners to seek advice on managing their wealth. By establishing trust with a HENRY during his or her first steps towards building significant wealth, you can cultivate a lifelong client.
Typical HENRYs have long working hours. Many have grown up surrounded by social media and value user-friendly digital experiences that do not involve too much effort when it comes to their finances. Considering that a significant portion of their financial lives revolve around spending money as opposed to saving it, it is noteworthy that the same Equifax report found that HENRYs prefer to pay bills online and via mobile devices and automatically charge recurring bills to debit or credit cards.
To build strong relationships with soon-to-be HNWIs, aim to help them navigate the challenges of balancing their lifestyles with their financial assets, reducing debt, and increasing savings. Keep your advice short, simple, and data-driven. Statistically, they are likely familiar with the power of data – the highest paid professions in Europe are in data-intensive industries like IT and energy – but lack the time to sift through reports and make sense of them.