Contributed by: Melissa Parkins, CFP®
The generation known as Millennials is made up of those born between 1980 and 2000, currently putting us between the ages of 16 and 36. I happen to sit dead middle of this range, making me a true Millennial, I guess! We are savvy, independent, and a little skeptical. I’ve even heard we are overconfident and self-entitled (I may or may not find that hard to believe!). Some of you may be surprised to also hear that research suggests we are way more conservative than you might think.
The Millennial generation is the biggest in US history thus far, even bigger than the Baby Boomers. There are currently over 92 million Millennials, says Goldman Sachs Investment Research. According to The Brookings Institution, by 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce and will account for 46% of the nation’s income. This means that we are going to have huge impact – so watch out! Growing up with technology has armed us with information and the ability to research, communicate, and compare before making decisions. With our fluent use of social media, we have the ability to capture a large audience for whatever it is that we are trying to communicate. We have grown up in a time of rapid change, giving us a set of priorities and expectations very different from previous generations.
Millennials should not be overlooked. We are currently or soon will be entering the prime of our careers. We want to build credit and savings. We want to travel, buy nice houses, and have nice things. Sure, we may have a ton of student loan debt, but these are things that we as financial planners can help with now, and start lifelong relationships embarking on the journey to financial achievement together.
So how do new millennial investors fit into the “traditional” financial planning relationship? We have different interests, needs, goals, and ideas. That is why The Center has started a new Wealth Builder program geared specifically towards servicing these new financial planning clients! With my new blog series, I hope to engage my fellow Millennials with topics that are important to us – student loans, saving for weddings or children’s educations, purchasing homes, starting new jobs, budgeting, building safety nets… whatever it may be. We may not fit the traditional financial planning client mold at this point in time, but we will soon, and for the time being, we have different needs to be serviced. We have the desire to be financially successful and we are oriented toward the future, so I have no doubt that these goals will be achieved. So shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or a Tweet and let me know what you would like to hear about. In the meantime, stay tuned for my next blog!
Melissa Parkins, CFP® is an Associate Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.
Any opinions are those of Melissa Parkins and not necessarily those of Raymond James. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete.