Most Singaporeans picking new '5 Cs' over material gain: Survey

Straits Times 12 Oct 12;

FORGET the old "five Cs" when it comes to the priorities of most Singaporeans these days.

Now, intangibles such as control, confidence, community and career are more important than material gain here, according to a survey by OCBC Bank.

Another is "can" in the sense of having a can-do attitude.

These non-material "new" five Cs, as the survey calls them, have supplanted the traditional five Cs - cash, car, condominium, country club membership and credit card.

Those five Cs, used extensively to define wealth, are no longer as relevant today, said the bank in a statement.

"The wealth business is our stronghold, and we want anyone who is wondering about how they can grow their wealth to come to us," said Ms Madeline O'Connor, OCBC Bank's chief marketing officer.

The survey was conducted by OCBC to better understand customers' definition of wealth.

About two-thirds - 65 per cent - of respondents rate the intangibles as more important while the remaining are sticking to the material yardsticks of wealth.

About 70 per cent of those polled who live in Singapore prefer the pursuit of goals such as having a happy family, 52 per cent chose travelling, while 53 per cent picked staying healthy at a ripe old age.

Less than 12 per cent and 4 per cent picked owning a luxury car and a country club membership as worthy life goals.

Other "C" choices which received the highest ratings included care, compassion, children and character.

The survey is part of the bank's "Strive for More" campaign to attract customers to bank with them and support new products and services.

It was conducted over the first week this month via Facebook and iPads installed in 50 taxis islandwide. Those lucky enough to ride in one of these cabs and who took the survey between 6pm and 9pm enjoyed a free ride on OCBC Bank.

A total of 2,100 responses were collected.