An increasing number of investors don’t fit the traditional mould - being younger, digitally connected and actively committed to sustainable investment. Are you serving them yet?
Key points
- Younger people are more involved in investing than they used to be
- Responsive asset and wealth managers are shifting focus to this segment
- Younger investors have specific priorities: digital access, full transparency and sustainability
- A Client Portal helps meet these demands
Are investors getting younger, on average?
Reflecting a wider industry trend, 2020 investment platform AJ Bell reported that 22% of new customers in the first six months of the year were aged between 21 and 30 (long-term norm: 13%). We’ve long been familiar with the terms “old” money and “young” money. Now there’s more and more “young”money. Why?
- Crises like 9/11, global recessions and pandemics have made younger people more concerned about financial security and motivated to take more control of their financial future.
- In the era of tech start-ups, more younger people are making a lot of money. In Russia, the average age of Ultra High Net Worth individuals is 49; in China it is 50. Their fortunes are predominantly self-made.
- The growing number of digital investment and trading platforms make younger people feel more at home in the investment space.
Traditional wealth and asset managers are playing catch-up
By 2018, younger investors were on the rise - but their playground of choice was fintech which offered an interactive, multichannel customer experience and attractive options for novice investors. Many traditional firms started reaching out to younger investors in their marketing (perhaps mindful of estimates that $30 trillion of wealth will be transferred from the baby boomers to Generation Xers and millennials within the next three decades). Some began to investigate how younger investors preferred to do business - and quickly realised they would need to transform digitally.
What makes millennial investors tick?
- Younger investors are “digital natives”; comfortable with using digital channels to interact with financial firms - on their phones, tablets or PCs. Covid-19 has accelerated this way of doing business for most people and wealth and asset managers should implement digital engagement channels such as apps, websites and live chat to access information, especially with the younger demographic in mind.
- An investor aged around 35 today may have seen their parents’ savings obliterated by the recession of 2007 - 2009. Younger investors are noticeably focussed on transparency when it comes to investment and have a desire to hold companies accountable, rather than taking it on faith that firms will act responsibly and ethically with investors’ money.
- Younger investors are more active than older generations in pursuing investments that can benefit the world - a third of millennials often or exclusively choose investments that take ESG factors into account, while a recent survey found that ESG considerations affected investment choices for 78% of 18 - 34 year olds.
Bridge the generation gap with a responsive Client Portal
The Client Portals we build for wealth and asset managers are all-in-one digital engagement platforms for investors to access on any device. They meet younger investors’ need for transparency, by offering real-time insights on fund performance, as well as an underlying investment strategy. Interactive fund sheets can incorporate layers of supporting data - useful for adding substance and credibility to ESG funds’ claims and ratings.
For younger investors, a Client Portal provides a fintech experience that feels more natural than reading emails or downloading PDF portfolio reports. Your older investors will like it too. Click here to book an upcoming demo of our Client Portal solution.
