How can advisors better serve America’s youngest adults?

investmentnews.com:

The 76 million who make up the youngest American adults have values and priorities that are very much their own and advisors hoping to engage with them will need to recognize this.

A new study from Edward Jones reveals that those aged 18-34 are having a tough time right now – most say they are struggling or merely surviving in life – but they are also optimistic that better things are ahead for them.

The research, conducted alongside Next360 Partners and MarketCast, also found that this cohort’s view of financial resilience has been informed by their parents’ experiences during the Great Recession and the challenges of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis in the last few years.

“Our research offers a deeper understanding of GenNext, an age group defined by their shared experiences, not the year they were born,” said Lena Haas, head of Wealth Management Advice and Solutions at Edward Jones. “With most worried about rising costs and an inability to save, this will have vast implications for the wealth management industry. Our purpose calls us to identify how we might help this age group plan and reach their life goals — across health, family, purpose and finances.”

GenNext are a diverse and values-driven group.

Half of those polled identify as non-white and 17% say they are LGBTQ or prefer to self-describe their sexual orientation. A significant share is educated with 1 in 3 having some college education and 1 in 4 having a bachelor’s degree or higher.

They are also digital natives, but this does not mean they devalue personal and face-to-face connections, or that they have wildly different life and financial goals from previous generations including marriage, homeownership, and starting a family.

They are typically