Millennials, Gen Z Triple Financial Wealth Since 2019

Out of all generations, Millennials (born from 1981 through 1996) and Generation Z (born from 1997 through 2013) experienced the most substantial growth in financial assets over the past three years, according to the latest edition of the Cerulli Edge—U.S. Retail Investor Edition. Gen Z, the youngest demographic group, saw its financial wealth nearly triple from $2 trillion in 2019 to almost $6 trillion three years later.

“At 44 million households strong—and counting—this younger cohort increasingly is becoming impossible to ignore,” said John McKenna, a research analyst for retail investment at Cerulli, in a statement. “With their financial wealth growing at a massive rate alongside the complexity of their assets, they are prime candidates for formal advice relationships beyond just a brokerage account and a local bank teller. As the retiree and near-retiree markets become more saturated, younger investors represent a chance for advisers to build relationships that could last through five decades, growing in wealth each step of the way.”

Although wealth growth was observed across all age groups, Millennials and Gen Zers experienced notable increases in ownership of stocks and retirement accounts. By the end of 2022, more than half (55%) of Millennials and Gen Zers possessed a retirement account, either through employment or independently—a rise of 6% since 2019. Moreover, the surge in retail trading during the early 2020s predominantly impacted Millennial and Gen Zers, with 22% now holding individual stocks and 9% owning pooled assets such as mutual funds and ETFs, marking an increase from 13% and 6% respectively.

Advisers should start including younger generations in the wealth planning conversation, said Mike Conrath, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s chief retirement strategist, at the “2024 Guide to Retirement” launch event.

“Considering the role of the adviser, their advice resonates the most when they’re not just talking to that parental generation, but they’re including the younger generations into part of that planning conversation,” Conrath said.

He stated that once wealth transfers to younger generations, the children take that money, invest it themselves or take it to their own adviser. They could spend it carelessly if they do not have financial discipline or general knowledge.

“For families that do have wealth transfers, it’s important to include the full family into the conversation so the advisers can plan according to what all the clients are comfortable with,” he said. “It not only helps the adviser retain the assets, but more importantly, [those in] the generation receiving the assets have someone giving them the professional guidance around that.”