3 ways your millennial clients could benefit from financial advice

According to figures from Barclays, £5.5 trillion will transfer between the generations as inheritance or gifts over the course of the next 20 to 30 years. This wealth is set to be passed on from baby boomers (people born between the late 1940s and early 1960s) to millennials (those born in the 1980s and 1990s).

There have been various studies to assess the amount of wealth that may be involved in this “great wealth transfer”. It’s calculated that, in the next decade alone, 300,000 younger people in the UK are likely to inherit around £327 billion.

With this amount of money passing between the generations, it’s wise for millennials to know how to handle a financial windfall.

Sudden access to a large amount of money can be stressful. Without expert guidance from a financial planner, they may end up making ill-informed decisions that could have a lasting detrimental effect on their financial future.

Here are three more ways your younger clients could benefit from expert financial advice.

1. Protect them from unscrupulous sources and poor advice

There’s been a significant rise in DIY trading apps, such as Nutmeg and Robinhood, in the last few years, making it easier for people to invest their money. While it’s undoubtedly good that people are taking more interest in making their money work for them, there are substantial risks involved in investing without professional guidance.

As well as the proliferation of apps willing to help you invest your hard-earned money, there has been an increase in social media figures spreading misleading information.

A report published in the Independent confirmed that a fifth of under-35s see social media as their most valuable source of information.

Unregulated advice from platforms like TikTok or Facebook can tempt young investors to play the market based on potentially dubious advice. Additionally, the rise of cryptocurrency has increased the trend for social media influencers to share investment “tips”, as we discussed in a previous article.

Millennials with little or no financial experience could easily fall victim to bad information. Furthermore, they may be unaware that they have followed poor advice until it’s too late to remedy any losses they might incur.

2. Help them form good money habits and invest in their future

While many millennials tend to be better at saving than you might think, forming good money habits early in their working life could be very useful by the time they reach retirement.

Young adults aged between 18 and 34 and the self-employed both experienced an increase in financial vulnerability during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. People under 40 are more likely to have lost work and income, fallen into debt and been forced to use their savings to live. This has also had the knock-on effect that many have had to stop their pension contributions.

The good news is that a huge number of young people actively want to take control of their money and their financial wellbeing.

According to figures from Vanguard, published in Money Marketing, more than a third of the investors on their platform are under the age of 30. As you can see, it’s clear that there is an appetite among young people to take care of their money and profit by investing.

As professional financial planners, we can help build on this willingness by forming a long-term relationship and steering your client’s money decisions towards meeting their lifestyle goals and objectives.

3. Encourage them to pay their future self first

Many millennials are focused on the here and now, and they may find it hard to imagine what their future lives may look like. Financial planning can give clarity to their financial situation now and help them understand how they can map that on to their aspirations for their future.

Financial planning starts with a holistic look at an individual’s current circumstances and discussions about their goals to form a long-term plan for the future.

A good financial planner can help your millennial clients with:

• Budgeting advice
• Cashflow modelling
• Paying off high-interest debt
• Building an emergency fund
• Investing in the future through tax-efficient products such as ISAs.

Taking a patient approach over the long term will help your younger clients enjoy financial stability throughout their lifetime.

Working with an adviser can help your younger clients grow and protect their wealth

False preconceptions could deter you from recommending your younger clients seek financial advice. But evidence shows that there is an appetite for good money management.

With the right guidance, young people can enjoy the benefits of sound financial planning long into the future.

We can help steer your millennial clients away from bad habits and poor advice and give them peace of mind with a secure financial plan to guide them through their working life and beyond.

Get in touch

We’re here to advise you and your clients on all aspects of financial planning. If you have clients that would benefit from advice, or you’re interested in how you can work more closely with us, please get in touch. Email enquiries@prosserknowles.co.uk or call 01562 829 222.

Please note:

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

This article is no substitute for financial advice and should not be treated as such. To determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances, please contact us.