Boomers: One Generation, Two Different Animals
Posted On September 20, 2017
They say you can never stop learning. If you’re a financial adviser, you should strive to prove that theory. One of the important things we need to keep re-learning is how different generations prefer to handle their money — or even different subsets within the same generation. Many advisers, for instance, may think they know all there is to know about Baby Boomer clients. Many advisers are Baby Boomers themselves. But there are important differences to consider even within the Baby Boomer generation. While many leading boomers, born from 1946 to ’55, are already retired, trailing boomers who were born… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Financial Services, Wealth
Is it Stuff? Or Heirlooms? Not sure…
Posted On June 2, 2017
Gen-Xers and millennials have things easier than our Baby Boomer parents and grandparents in so many ways. We have grown up with technology and are comfortable with it. We’ve had advances in medicine that have made us healthier. We pay our bills online, buy our groceries with a piece of plastic and carry portable computers in our pockets, a world of information just a click away. One thing that has become more difficult over the years, however, is deciding what to do with our parents’ possessions when they pass away. While treasured heirlooms such as china, silver and antiques have… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generations, Matures, Wealth
Brexit to the Millennials – Uppercut to the Jaw
Posted On July 26, 2016
When Great Britain voted to leave the European Union last month, an issue known globally by the mashup term Brexit, generational politics and preferences played a huge role in the result. Younger people voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, while older voters largely opted out. According to polling cited by Time, less than 20 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 supported Brexit, while nearly 60 percent of those old enough to receive pensions were in favor. According to the Telegraph, Brexit’s passage was due in large part to high turnout among those older voters in… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Generations, Wealth
Middle Child Syndrome of Gen X
Posted On June 29, 2016
“Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” Most Generation Xers know exactly where that phrase came from and who said it – Jan Brady on the Brady Bunch. With her whiny lament for attention and jealousy of her sisters, Jan came to be a symbol of the archetypal middle child. In the generational household, it’s Generation X that is playing the role of Jan Brady, stuck between the bigger Baby Boom generation and the up-and-coming millennials. In a recent Forbes article, Cynthia Meyer notes that Gen-Xers are often overlooked when it comes to financial security, their concerns wedged between the impending retirement of the… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Wealth
Gen X – a financial conundrum
Posted On September 30, 2014
For years we’ve been talking about how Gen X is going to be the first generation that is not expected to be better off that its parents. Sometimes Gen X is given a slightly better chance and that dubious honor is bestowed on the Millennials. Either way, the trickle down economics don’t seem to be happening past the Boomers. Which is why the latest research from the Pew Charitable Trust I so intriguing. As reported in The Washington Post, a new study shows that Gen X is actually making more (adjusted to 2011 dollars) than Boomers did at the same… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Wealth
Can early financial literacy indicate future success? If so, look out.
Posted On July 24, 2014
According to an international report on financial literacy, recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, today’s teens are ill-equipped to make much more than basic spending decisions. And this could be a problem. Financial planning demands are increasingly complicated. While Matures, and to some extent Boomers, were able to supplement pensions and corporate retirement plans with some personal financial planning, Xers, Millennials and iGen know that they are on their own. But has education kept pace with needs? It seems not. The OECD report indicates there is work to be done, with more than 1 in 6… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, iGen, WealthMillennials, Gen Xers Most Concerned about Spending, Saving, and Investing
Posted On February 20, 2013
The two youngest generations, Millennials and Generation X, are the ones most concerned about their spending, saving, and investing, according to a TD Canada Trust survey. In contrast, 80% of Boomers feel they are managing their money well, even if 56% feel they don’t have enough of it. Millennials are most likely (65%) in the survey to worry that they are spending too much, compared with 56% of Xers and 44% of Boomers. Millennials are also most likely (55%) to want to learn more about finance and money management. Meanwhile, Generation X has the most competing financial concerns, including retirement… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Financial Services, Generations, Wealth, WorkWealthier Boomers Want More Advice
Posted On February 7, 2013
The wealthier the Baby Boomer, the more likely he or she will seek financial advice, according to an analysis by Millionaire Corner. Meanwhile, middle income or “Mass Affluent” (net worth between $100K and $1M) are more likely to self direct their finances. Only a quarter high net worth Boomers (>$5M) self direct their investments even though, as a group, they consider themselves very knowledgeable about finance. Meanwhile, 40% of the Mass Affluent group calls their own financial shots even though only 7% consider themselves “very knowledgeable.” Mass affluent are also the most likely (32%) to use an advisor on an… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Financial Services, WealthGenerational Wealth Transfer – Update
Posted On July 27, 2012
At the turn of the century, economists estimated that about $41 trillion in wealth would change hands from one generation to another by the middle of the century. Now, a couple of new studies help clarify which generations will be inheriting how much. For starters, according to a MetLife study, Baby Boomers still stand to inherit quite a bit from their Mature parents. They estimate that over the next couple of decades Boomers will inherit nearly $12 trillion. According to the study, roughly two-thirds of Boomers will receive inheritances and the median inheritance or transfer will be about $64,000. That… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Matures, Wealth