After experiencing two boom-and-bust cycles in the financial market, Millennials (that is, people in their 20s), have become more skeptical of financial advice and more conservative than older investors, especially Baby Boomers. According to a survey by Accenture involving 1,000 high-income, digital-savvy investors, Millennials are most determined to learn how to invest and pass along their wealth.
As Boomers pass along their wealth to their children, the trust gap for younger people is a challenge for advisors. Four times more Millennials than Boomers are unwilling to act on the advice of an advisor without consulting another source, and 43% consider themselves conservative — compared with 31% of Boomers.
The survey found significant unmet demands for online education and interactive tools as well as more dependence on social media. In fact, TD Ameritrade research shows that 88% of younger investors would fire their parents’ advisors and look more to technology and social media.
All of this research speaks to the fact that financial education and advice can’t be “one size fits all” for an advisor — not just plan by plan, but by investor group by investor group. For example, first-generation workers aren’t investors, they’re savers.
The bottom line: Without embracing technology and social media, advisors have little chance of reaching and educating participants in their plans.
