More Americans are concerned about reducing their debt than investing and saving for the future, according to a new report by BMO Wealth Management. The report, which polled 1,018 adults online, found that 31 percent said debt reduction was their top financial goal, compared to 26 percent who said increasing savings was their top priority and 21 percent who ranked investing and tax efficiency No. 1. Richard Kollauf, director of wealth services at BMO, said the results are a byproduct of the 2008 financial crisis, which caused many people to realize that high debt caused some of that pain. And the fact that savings beat out investing means that people are thinking short-term, rather than long-term, CNBC reports.
Salesforce Announces New Analytics Application
Salesforce announced the addition of Salesforce Wave to the CRM company's Financial Services Cloud. Allowing advisors to slice-and-dice information about their clients, Wave gives users the ability to segment and analyze client information by age group, activity type, investment area and financial goal progress, among other characteristics, as well as identify high-value clients. From there, advisors can then flag information or reach out to clients without leaving the Financial Services Cloud, in which Wave is embedded. "Wave for Financial Services Cloud gives advisors the ability to visualize personal and market data in the context of their client's goals, helping guide conversations about their investments," said Rohit Mahna, GM of Financial Services, Salesforce. "It's all about valuable insights that lead to action."