Younger, Do-It-Yourself Investors Interested in Human Financial Advice

More than one-quarter (27%) of current do-it-yourself investors say they are likely to use a financial adviser in the next 12 months, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Investor Satisfaction Study.

This likelihood is highest among members of Generation Y (also known as Millennials) and Generation Z. Of that group, 37% say they are looking for an advisory relationship, compared with 21% of Generation X, Baby Boomer and Pre-Boomer respondents.

However, traditional wealth management firms may not be positioned to win that business, as J.D. Power found the percentage of investors younger than age 40 is just 11% at traditional wealth management firms, as compared with 20% at retirement/discount brokerage firms, 26% at banks and 42% at fintech firms.

There are options for firms to succeed in the marketplace, however, according to the study.

“For younger generations of investors who’ve been exposed to digital, human and hybrid forms of investment advice during the past several years, the decision to lean into DIY or advised channels is rarely ever an either/or scenario,” said Kapil Vora, a senior director of wealth intelligence at J.D. Power, in a statement.

Trust; products and service offerings; and people are the most critical criteria that drive investor satisfaction with wealth management firms, according to the report. However, ease of doing business is also important, the survey found, ranking fourth of seven options. The other three choices were: digital channels; resolving problems or complaints; and value for fees paid.

Raymond James came in first in overall satisfaction among advised investors, with a score of 748 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by U.S. Bank (738) and Edward Jones (734).

“Increasingly, investors are using several approaches, and many younger investors who would traditionally have fallen into the DIY category are actively looking to work with human advisers,” Vora said. “However, it is no longer enough to have a brand legacy or an array of products and services; a company must deliver value and make the experience easy for investors.”

Among those with DIY investment accounts, the primary reasons for maintaining those accounts are that their finances and investments are simple enough to manage on their own (41%) and that they enjoy managing their own investments/finances (41%).

In overall satisfaction among DIY investors, Vanguard ranked highest, with a score of 704. Fidelity (703) and T. Rowe Price (691) round out the top three providers, with scores of 703 and 691, respectively.

The 2025 study was based on responses from 7,876 advised and 3,723 DIY investors and was fielded from January through December 2024.