The Millennial generation, American’s born between 1982 and 2000, represent more than 25 percent of the country’s population. So how is your financial advisory practice serving these people, who number more than 83.1 million according to the U.S. CENSUS BUREAU? This large and diverse group will soon enter their earnings prime. Independent financial advisors who connect with Millennials now will undoubtedly be much better positioned for long-term success. Connecting likely means meeting Millennials on their terms in key areas important to them. In this article we look at how Millennials value time. We will look at relationships and experiences in separate articles.
Have You Ever Heard “Time is Money”? For Millennials It’s All About More Time
Millennials see time as a limited resource to be spent wisely. An item in FORTUNE suggests that may be explained in part by the notion that “the era they have grown up in has shown them that nothing is a guarantee. Instability and rapid change are the norm.” These are also the first so-called ‘digital natives’, for whom physical presences for activities like banking, renting movies, hanging out with friends, going to school and ordering dinner have transformed from a ‘place you go’ to a ‘thing you do’ using any connected device.
Financial advisors need to demonstrate they can meet these expectations when helping Millennials manage their investments. Consider several technical tools that can make your operations more efficient overall, which also conveys an appreciation of technology to Millennial investors. WEALTH MANAGEMENT included these suggestions in an article:
- Scheduling software like SCHEDULEONCE or CALENDLY: Pays for itself multiple times over by saving you from endless email exchanges and phone calls, eliminating frustrating mix-ups, and making clients’ lives easier.
- Electronic Document signing from DOCUSIGN: Allows clients to sign documents virtually and is often available at no cost from your custodian.
- Virtual Video Conferencing and Screen Sharing from ZOOM: Wondering how to facilitate a face-to-face meeting virtually? Zoom has you covered.
- Password management from LASTPASS or 1PASSWORD: Allows you to generate ultra-secure passwords and store them in one place.
- Mobile Dictation Service from MOBILE ASSISTANT: Ever step out of an appointment wondering how you’re going to get your pages of notes into your CRM? Mobile Assistant.
An Opportunity: Millennials Seek Human Financial Advice
Millennials as a group expect a lot from technology which can save both time and money. So, one might be tempted to conclude the group would therefore be very attracted to the concept of Robo-advisors and allow technology to handle investments for them. However a poll exploring that notion, reported on BENEFITSPRO.COM, showed Millennials value human advisors in spite of their higher costs. Nearly 70 percent said a human advisor would deliver a higher return on investment, compared to 31 percent that said as much of Robo-advisors.
“Millennials will hand over their trust to technology when they need directions, the weather, or the answer to 5,678 x 75,003, but not when they are looking to turn $10,000 into $100,000 via Wall Street,” the report said.
The same survey also revealed concerns Millennials have about hiring financial advisors, which four out of 10 characterized as an intimidating experience. Those financial advisors who can meet Millennials’ technology expectations, while also building trust by demonstrating they deliver real value in exchange for investment fees, should be the ones that have the best success serving Millennial clients.