Sixty-six percent of our survey participants use a digital investment platform, deftly toggling between investing apps and asset classes. While not explicitly revealed in the survey, the mere fact that all respondents answered the survey on a tablet or smartphone indicates their investing likely occurred on those devices. “Because of social media, Gen Z knows more about investing at their age than any other previous generation,” Rosenthal said.
And while there are plenty of pitfalls and missteps that could plague young people along the way, Gen Z is shaping up to be the most financially savvy generation yet. The value-driven Buffett would likely disapprove of Gen Z’s love for AMC Entertainment and GameStop, which both made their top 10 most-held stocks. But Capuzzi said this likely reflected the ideals of another legendary investor.
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The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. “Massive swings in the stock market create fear, and that’s the only market this generation has known,” Rosenthal said. And this data matches the reality of debt younger adults face today. In 2020, both millennials and Gen Z saw the greatest overall debt growth, with Gen Z seeing the largest growth across mortgage and personal loan debt specifically, according to Experian’s consumer debt research. The sheer volume of money-related advice on social media—from self-proclaimed finance experts on TikTok to Reddit forums like WallStreetBets—makes proper vetting a daunting prospect. After all, there is no credential requirement for what one plans to say on Instagram or any other social platform.
We believe that optimism is encouraging and speaks to the availability and ease of investing today, in many cases made possible by the proliferation of FinTech. We believe the quality of investment advice, the method of implementation, and knowing what best crypto and stock trading platform it means to invest for the long-term are key to a healthy financial future. Investing today is analogous to a video game, especially given the look and feel of trading platforms. Baby boomers tend to stick to the professionals for investing advice.
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Peter Lynch, who averaged a 29% yearly return managing Fidelity’s Magellan Fund, argued it’s important to « invest in what you know ». Apex’s fintech platform supports around 4.5 million crypto-enabled trading accounts and Capuzzi said Gen Z is unlikely to share older generations’ skepticism for this asset class. « The younger generation are certainly more aggressive than older investors, with portfolios skewing towards growth, » he told Insider. « But there was a flight to safety for Gen Z during the last quarter. » All generations are dismissive of follower count and how many posts an account has when determining whether it’s a good source of investing intel.
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research may determine where and how companies appear. But it’s especially a loser in high-volatility years,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University, wrote for the Wall Street Journal.
“The personalities and charisma of some of the people on these platforms makes it easy to forget that personal finance is indeed personal,” Schaefer said. But Gen Z isn’t just looking for entertainment—they are looking for information. According to digital education company Pearson, YouTube and video in general are Gen Z’s preferred learning platforms, ranking second only to teachers as a learning tool.
Robinhood announced another 23% layoff of employees yesterday; that comes on top of a 9% layoff last quarter. What was supposed to be the great savior of investing for the next generation of investors is failing. Well, Millennials and Gen Z are challenging populations when it comes to investing. Whether Gen Z and Millennial investors will view Wall Street more favorably as they mature remains to be seen. Recent studies show that Millennials are defying some trends common to previous generations as they age, but it’s too soon to know if these changes will apply to investing as well. As for Gen Z, aka “Generation Precarious,” they are more likely to experience lots of financial ups and downs—but that may also make them more resilient and looking to a wide range of investing options.
And it’s perfect for beginners
« Until five years ago, this class of investor had never existed, because there weren’t platforms that enabled them to invest, » Apex’s chief executive Bill Capuzzi told Insider in a recent interview. « But platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood have broken a platform and now Gen Z are starting their investing lives early. » New York based asset management firm focused on investments in tech-enabled business service providers. The Motley Fool conducted an online survey of 2,000 American adults via Pollfish on Nov. 7, 2023. Results were post-stratified to generate nationally representative data based on age and gender.
But Gen Zers have had the chance to learn from their elders and use a deluge of online resources to make their money grow. Whether it’s the fear of missing out on big investment gains or the fear of not having enough money to retire, Gen Z heard the financial advice « start early » and ran with it. And with time on their side, Gen Zers are in for a penny, in for a pound. « This is where personal finance is personal, » Taylor Price, a Gen Z founder and the chief experience officer of Savvy, an app that helps people maximize discounts on their purchases, said. « If you see advice on social media that goes towards investing in a particular company or index funds, do your own due diligence, and take that as maybe a tip but not necessarily the do all be all. »
« Gen Z are the first digital natives, which also makes them uniquely more comfortable with things like investing via an app compared to previous generations. » It’s easier to search for a YouTube video or Reddit post on a particular stock than it is to schedule an appointment with a financial advisor. For many Americans, watching TikTok clips or Instagram reels from stock-picking influencers is probably much more entertaining https://www.xcritical.com/ than reading SEC filings. Accessing investing content on social media is also free; there are no subscription fees required. Social media platforms, among the most-used sources of investing information for younger generations, are among the least-trusted sources of information. YouTube is the exception, with respondents giving it a trust rating on par with traditional investing websites and above newspapers.
But despite their mass involvement in this market, Gen Z admits cryptocurrency in particular is last on their list of financial knowledge. That is, build it in layers where the first layer is the investment platform and if no one moved beyond that layer, they would be fine. For people who want to learn more, allow them to self-select their investment education modules. Do not write investment articles based on fads, trends, recessions or boom times. « Some of their top holdings were dividend-payers last quarter, » he said. « They’re rotating away from pandemic high-flyers, and from meme stocks, into value investments. »
- Overall, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances found that more Americans held stock in 2022 than in any previous year recorded.
- Accessing investing content on social media is also free; there are no subscription fees required.
- « They’re rotating away from pandemic high-flyers, and from meme stocks, into value investments. »
- What used to be a scarce asset reserved for only those wealthy enough to pay for it, is now—thanks to digital media—an abundant resource for all.
- His stories have featured on Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, among others.
Even if they haven’t realized it yet, Warren Buffett has had a significant impact on Gen Z investors. Capuzzi said that many of the accounts tracked by Apex appear to adhere to the 91-year old’s « buy and hold » strategy. The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice.
Several early market entrants including Wealthfront were sold in recent years to larger investment firms. Overall, with billions of venture capital investment over the past 12 years, the market share of these new robo-advisors is still less than 10% of the overall investment marketplace. So the opportunity for innovative or disruptive entrepreneurs is massive.
Stock markets have been volatile in the first four months of 2022, with inflation, interest rate rises, and war in Ukraine all causing significant uncertainty. That’s encouraged Gen Z investors to target energy stocks, which have also benefited from crude oil’s surge above $100 barrel. For Gen Z respondents, author credentials and expertise is the most important factor when it comes to assessing the reputability of a new source of investing information.
Apex Fintech Solutions surveyed nearly 4 million Gen Z trading accounts to find out the cohort’s top 100 stocks, as well as their outlook on cryptocurrencies and legendary investors like Warren Buffett. Past performance is what baby boomers value most when judging a source of investing information, but it’s the second-least-important factor for Gen Z. Past performance is also a top factor for millennials and Gen X. Older generations find social media less trustworthy than younger generations, and generational preferences toward social media platforms are apparent in the survey responses.
