New research from LinkedIn shows that more than half (51 per cent) of the UK’s most well-off young consumers are open to financial products and services from traditionally non-financial brands.
But the UK’s Affluent Millennials are also noticeably more financially informed, progressive in their thinking and confident about the future compared to their peers.
These findings are based on the Winning Affluent Millennials research, undertaken by LinkedIn and Ipsos.
The study of 9,200 Internet users in ten countries included a sample of more than 800 in the UK. It explores the differences in attitude between Millennials (born between 1981 and 1997) and Generation X (1966 to 1980). It also looks specifically at the thinking of Affluent Millennials, who have more than £75,000 of investable assets, compared to the rest of their generation.
Children of the crash
Affluent Millennials are truly children of the crash, being more likely than any other group to predict another financial crisis (39 per cent). Yet they have unparalleled confidence in future economic growth (35 per cent vs. 22 per cent of affluent Generation X-ers). This confidence is perhaps partly borne out of financial prudence; Affluent Millennials save more than the previous generation, see greater value in financial advisers and seek more involvement in financial decisions.
Despite this, three out of five have not yet started saving for retirement, and the majority have not yet started investing.
Henry Clifford-Jones, director of Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn, commented on the findings: “Those with the most wealth at their disposal have the loudest voice when it comes to reshaping the market, and they are hungry for educational information. Financial service organisations are making progress, but need to carry on rapidly adapting to match the expectations and habits of Millennials. If they don’t, new market entrants with a more social approach will fill the void.”
Other characteristics of Affluent Millennials in the research include:
- They interact with their financial institutions on different platforms; 34 per cent say a social presence is a must-have for a financial brand.
- They are five times more likely than any other group in the study to see social media as their source of financial information in the future.
- Furthermore, they hold a highly progressive view of the financial industry, where a social-based economy, digital currencies and virtual wallets are all the norm.
- Despite being open to non-financial brands, once they are won over Affluent Millennials are loyal customers; they are more likely to trust their current financial institutions compared to their less well off counterparts (42 per cent vs 28 per cent) and are more loyal to the financial organisations they currently work with (just 18 per cent saying they are not at all loyal).
The full research can be accessed here