Millennial investors smash avocado myth in ASX report

Contrary to the stereotype that millennials imprudently spend all their money on expensive smashed avocado breakfasts, the ASX has revealed the number of millennial investors in Australia has almost doubled over the last 5 years. Young investors (18-24yo) now make up 20% of Australian investors (up from 10% in 2012), with the proportion of Gen Y investors (25-34yo) increasing from 24% to 39% of individuals investing over the same period.

While the absolute number of millennial investors has increased significantly during this time, as a cohort they are under-represented within the population -- totalling only 9% of Australian investors, yet making up 12% of the Australian population.

Do you fit the profile of the ‘typical’ millennial investor? Read on to find out.

Millennial investor profile

The financial goals of millennials differ to mature investors, prioritising the more immediate goals of saving for a home deposit or travel over planning for their retirement. Not wishing to lose their hard earned principal investment, 81% of young investors seek guaranteed or reliable investment returns, making them the most risk averse of any any age group.

On average, young investors have both higher incomes and significantly higher total household wealth than non-investors of the same age, with intergenerational wealth transfers from family trusts and the financially literacy of parents important bootstraps as a young investor.

Millennial investors are socially responsible in their investment strategies. According to CFSGAM 85% of millennials now consider their investments as a way to express their personal values and 93% believe a company’s “social, political and environmental impact in is important when making an investment decision.”

Millennial investment advice

The use of financial or investment advice by millennials lags the Australian investor population. Only 37% of young investors pay for financial advice compared to 45% of the overall population. Among millennial investors who do not use professional advice, the two most cited reasons were that:

1. Advice was too expensive for them to obtain; and
2. Their investment was too small to need advice.

Young investors are however embracing low-cost financial advice online, including ‘robo-advice’ (such as that offered by Sharesight partner Six Park) at higher rates than older investors, with 15% of those surveyed by the ASX willing to embrace automated investment advice, compared to just 4% of those over 60.

Mobile investment apps

Online financial advice isn’t the only area millennial investors are ahead of their more established counterparts. CommSec recently revealed that millennials now make up over 50% of all trades conducted through the CommSec mobile app.

Similarly, Sharesight’s millennial users are 35% more likely than non-millennials to track their investment portfolio with Sharesight using a mobile device. If you haven’t yet, install Sharesight’s mobile app (perfect for millennials and non-millennials alike) to make it even easier to track your investment portfolio anywhere, anytime.

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