Millennial and Gen Z investors are reshaping the landscape of wealth management.
Tech-savvy, socially conscious and eager to build financial independence, these young clients are entering the investment world amid economic uncertainty, market volatility and a constant stream of digital information.
For financial advisors, this shift presents both a challenge and a competitive edge: how to attract, engage and manage the expectations of young investors who want fast results but need long-term financial strategies.
Here’s how today’s top advisors are meeting younger clients where they are, while also helping them stay grounded, informed and focused on the future.
Start with empathy, not assumptions
Young clients don’t want to be talked down to – they want to be understood. This generation is navigating a financial landscape unlike any that has come before it.
Many are recent graduates managing student loan debt, entry-level salaries and rising living costs. Others are in their 30s, juggling homeownership, career advancement, young families and aspirations to invest, all while facing inflation, market volatility and a barrage of conflicting advice from social media.
“They’re aware that they need to save for retirement, but they’re also starting to build a family or they want to buy a house, or they want to go on vacation,” says Logan Ribeiro, client advisor at Crestwood Advisors, based in Boston, Massachusetts. This struggle among young clients to balance short-term and long-term goals can be overwhelming, according to Ribeiro.
Their financial concerns are real, complex and deeply personal. Advisors who lead with empathy – asking questions before offering answers – can build trust from the very first meeting. It’s not about having all the answers upfront; it’s about showing genuine interest in their unique journey.
“Young clients like to see a level of professionalism, but they also want a trusted person that they can speak to – someone who has an understanding and empathy towards them as an individual, who’s kind and not judging them,” says Ribeiro.
Tip: Start with open-ended questions like:
- “What are your biggest financial goals in the next 3 to 5 years?”
- “What’s your experience with investing so far?”
- “Where do you typically go for financial advice or information?”
Then, practice active listening. Reflect what you hear, ask follow-up questions and avoid rushing into jargon-filled explanations. When clients feel listened to and respected, they’re more open to learning and more likely to follow your guidance.
“Meet them where they are. That’s really important to them,” says Kate Atwood, managing partner and president of Founders Grove Wealth Partners in Richmond, Virginia, noting that some young clients understand key financial concepts like the power of compounding while others lack basic financial knowledge. “So I really want to identify what’s important to them. Is it more peace of mind? Or is it knowing about particular investments and how they can get started. That really dictates the conversation.”
Teach the value of long-term thinking
Patience is not a default setting for many young investors, who are accustomed to next-day delivery and real-time feedback. Advisors must reset expectations about how wealth grows.
“The most effective way to engage young clients is to give them immediate wins inside a long-term framework,” Nathan Sebesta, owner of Access Wealth Strategies in Artesia, New Mexico. “I show them real numbers, projections and how small actions now compound over time. When they can track their progress on an app or dashboard, they stay engaged. We do not need to change the fundamentals of long-term planning. We need to change how we communicate it.”
Utilize visuals, planning tools and historical data to illustrate the distinction between short-term performance and long-term success. Break down compound interest. Illustrate the impact of staying invested. Framing investments as chapters in a story rather than isolated events can help keep them grounded and more relatable.
“The visual aspect of what we do is incredibly important,” says Kyle Playford, financial planner at Freedom Financial Partners in Oakdale, Minnesota. “If clients can see what their portfolio looks like at age 70 if they just took a little more risk in their retirement savings, it’s a no-brainer. Show rather than tell is a big thing.”
But young clients also have many short-term goals, such as paying off student loans or buying a home, or both. “They’ve likely only experienced a bull market, so we share how markets ebb and flow,” says Van Spankeren, principal and wealth advisor at Rise Investments in Chicago, Illinois. “This is a challenge because young investors tend to be short-sighted. A quilt chart is usually a good start.” The multi-colored chart Van Spankeren uses shows the annual performance of multiple asset classes since 2000, including YTD for 2025.
Set clear expectations around risk
Young investors often sit at two extremes of the risk spectrum – either chasing high-stakes wins or fearing any market fluctuation.
Some come to the table with a “go big or go home” mindset, inspired by crypto surges, meme stocks and influencers claiming overnight wealth. Others are more risk-averse, shaped by firsthand experiences of financial crises, pandemic-era layoffs or rising living costs. Both groups bring emotion into the equation, which can cloud decision-making.
As a financial advisor, your role is to be the voice of clarity in the chaos, to strike a balance between encouraging ambition and tempering unrealistic expectations. This means having honest, data-driven conversations about risk tolerance, time horizons, diversification and volatility. Educate through modeling:
- Use simple risk profiling tools to help clients understand their comfort zones.
- Walk through hypothetical scenarios: What happens if the market drops 15% next quarter? What if a risky investment triples, only to crash?
- Show comparisons between aggressive portfolios and more balanced ones over different timeframes.
“With retirement money, younger investors may be more aggressive. However, with their general savings, they should probably be more conservative,” says Heidi Foster, VP and wealth advisor at American Wealth Management in Reno, Nevada. “I try to let them have an idea of how many unexpected things could be coming, then I tend to use a barbell approach with their investments, letting them find all the fun and excitement of aggressive investments in their retirement accounts, then a more conservative, moderate type allocation in their savings. Unexpected things often come up – a destination wedding or three destination weekends in one year or their car breaks down.”
Mitch Hamer, founder and lead advisor of Intersecting Wealth, which offers investment advice through RIA Stratos Wealth Advisors, says it’s not just a matter of educating young clients but also re-educating them. He tells them, “Forget what you think you know that you learned on TikTok or Instagram Finance.” He helps clients “understand how fear and greed can lead to poor decisions, such as panic-selling during a market dip or chasing returns without a strategy and frames risk as something to manage, not avoid. I remind them that responsible investing doesn’t mean boring returns; it means sustainable, repeatable growth.”
Managing risk is not a consideration only for investments, says Playford. “There are also risks around income protection. We run a what-if scenario, like what if something happens to you next year or if you die or get a disability. You’re going to have either good cash flow or you're going to have to roll back your budget and change your lifestyle if there isn't enough life insurance. Maybe you can get some more life insurance. If you're young and relatively healthy, term insurance might make sense.”
Tip: Your role? Not just a portfolio manager, but truth-teller, guide and coach – someone who can filter hype, simplify complexity and keep clients grounded when emotions run high.
Tailor communications
If your client communication still revolves around lengthy PDFs, quarterly reports, and formal review meetings, you risk losing the attention – and engagement – of younger clients. Millennials and Gen Z expect a communication style that mirrors the rest of their digital lives: fast, accessible and personalized.
Think mobile-first, not paper-first. These clients prefer quick, digestible updates they can review between meetings or while on the go. That might mean a monthly market recap video, a two-minute voice note explaining a portfolio shift or an app-based dashboard that tracks their goals in real time.
“They are a generation that’s used to getting everything that they want right away,” says Mike Byrnes, president of Byrnes Consulting, which serves advisors. Quick response times and almost anytime accessibility are important to young clients, explains Byrnes, adding that this means “after-hours accessibility and long weekend accessibility,” and not leaving clients “waiting and waiting” for responses.
“Young people will want to have a lot of quick short conversations -- to make them come into the office is a chore – like video chats and personalized video messages,” explains Byrnes. “Give them little nuggets of information and be proactive. When there’s some market turmoil, put a little five-minute video and send it to them. An older client might want to have their handheld a little more. The younger client just wants to know that the advisor is proactively looking at these things.”
But don’t confuse brevity with simplicity. Young investors want to understand the why behind your recommendations – not just the what. They're eager to learn, and they appreciate advisors who can break down complex financial topics into clear, actionable insights without being condescending.
“When they communicate that they want things quickly, but then they don't want too much,” says Foster. “They're perfectly content only to talk when they want to talk, which might be similar to all clients – sometimes just once a year if nothing's happening. But if something is going on with their lives that they're trying to figure out, they might want to talk every week for a month.”
“One of the things that has worked well for us with the younger generation,” says Atwod, “is when they send an email, we respond right away, saying ‘We've received your email. Please give us x number of days and we'll get back to you shortly. Often, they're good with a response. They'll take that versus me trying to send some long, lengthy email back.”
Modern communication strategies that resonate:
- Text or email nudges for progress milestones (“You just hit your savings goal—great job!”)
- Short video clips explaining current market trends or account activity
- Interactive tools and dashboards that show their financial progress visually
- Quarterly check-ins with links to personalized content, not static PDFs
- Quick explainer voice memos when something changes in their financial plan
Also, consider offering multiple communication options and asking new clients about their preferences upfront. Some may want frequent touchpoints, while others prefer a “set it and forget it” model with occasional updates.
By adapting your communication style to fit how young clients live and learn, you reinforce your value – and build loyalty in a digital-first generation.
“These conversations can get really overwhelming, fast,” says Hamer. “They have to be in little bite-sized increments of 15- to 25-minute meetings. In the age of TikTok and Instagram reels, you're competing for seconds of people's time.”
Align money to meaning
For many Gen Z and Millennial investors, money isn’t just a means to an end – it’s a reflection of who they are and what they care about. This generation is deeply values-driven; they want their financial decisions to align with their ethics, identity and long-term vision for the world.
That could mean investing in ESG (environmental, social and governance) portfolios, supporting companies that promote diversity and inclusion, avoiding industries that don’t align with their beliefs (like fossil fuels or firearms) or backing startups led by underrepresented founders.
Others may define financial success not by how much they accumulate, but by how much freedom their money gives them – whether that's the ability to travel, start a business, take a sabbatical or give generously to causes they believe in.
As a financial advisor, helping clients connect their financial plans to their personal purpose unlocks deeper engagement, trust and motivation. When money is tied to meaning, clients are more likely to stay the course – even during tough market cycles.
To bring purpose into the planning process, start by asking clients about the causes, communities or personal goals they care about most. Introduce values-based investing or impact portfolios that align with those priorities.
Encourage them to set aside funds for meaningful experiences, such as travel or education, not just for traditional goals. Explore options such as charitable giving, donor-advised funds or mission-driven investments. And instead of focusing solely on retirement, reframe the conversation around lifestyle: What do you want life to look like at 50? What does freedom mean to you?
Ultimately, showing clients that money can be a tool for freedom, security and social impact helps transform financial planning from a chore into a profoundly personal journey.
“In my first meeting with a new client, we talk about their ‘perfect day’ and how they want life to look and feel,” says Chandler Fugate-Laus, founder and financial planner at Moneyfluent, a woman-owned virtual planning firm in Columbus, Ohio, that specializes in serving millennials. “Immediate results can coexist with long-term goals if we pair what’s achievable now with understanding how today’s decisions impact the future.”
“Flexibility is key for the lives of young investors,” says Brandon Galici, founder of Galici Financial in San Juan Capistrano, California. “For many, that translates into financial plans that don’t follow the ‘old school way’ of first maxing out of their retirement account, but instead taking advantage of their company’s 401(k) match first, then opening a brokerage account to finance future purchases and experiences such as travel, concerts, sports events and hobbies.”
“This group still wants to save and invest for retirement, but it’s just not a top goal. Then we’re looking into brokerage accounts much sooner,” says Galici, adding that those savings can be used for more short-term “high-level goals” like buying a house or starting a family sometime in the future. They don’t know when, but it's before retirement and they don’t need the money now.” His firm’s motto: maximize life today, plan for tomorrow.
Be a guide, not a gatekeeper
Young clients aren’t just looking for someone to manage their money. They’re seeking a trusted partner who can help them navigate a complex world and build a future with confidence. That means showing up not as a gatekeeper of information, but as an educator, coach and collaborator.
By managing expectations with honesty, creativity and respect, financial advisors can cultivate lasting relationships – and help shape the next generation of financially empowered adults.
