How To Target The Next Generation Of Millenial Wealth Management Clients

Why Should You Try And Earn More Millennial Wealth Management Clients?

Many advisers would be wise to start investing their time and effort into generating more millennial wealth management clients in the near and immediate future. The reason behind this? The largest wealth transfer in the history of the world is happening. An estimated 30-70 trillion dollars is being passed down from the baby boomer generation and it’s the millennials who are getting their hands on it. Now, assuming you don’t want to be out of business in the next 10 years, you should be actively looking to recruit those in their 30’s-40’s with a view to working with them and their money. 

Who Are Millennials And Why Don’t They Trust Banks And Financial Services Firms?

Contrary to popular belief, millennials are not teenagers or those in their early 20’s. They aren’t addicted to TikTok, Roblox or Fortnite and most importantly, they don’t trust you. 

The definition of a millennial is a person born between 1981 and 1996, so in fact, most millennials are well into their 30’s now. They are the people who are running businesses, raising children and eventually running the governments around the world. In reality, this has already started to happen with the world’s youngest prime minister being Sanna Marin at 34 years of age.

So why is this a problem for wealth managers? Well, millennials saw the world go to pot in 2008. They saw their parents lose not only their jobs, but their savings and their houses. The blame, rightfully and squarely, placed on banks, banking institutions and hedge funds. The very people who had been entrusted with their parents’ money and their inheritance gambled and lost it all; so why should they want to deal with the sharks in suits? Millennials have been taking matters into their own hands and managing their money on their own.

What Are Millennials Doing With Their Money?

Well, many are managing their money on their own. The rise in platforms such as blockchain has decentralised the finance system allowing for alternative ways of investment has meant that millennials have been able to take advantage of alternative money management routes. Other platforms, like fractional ownership and robo-advisories mean that many feel they don’t need the help of advisers. A large proportion of millennials believe that they can manage their money on their own and get better returns than with the help of wealth managers, if for nothing else, other than the fact they don’t have to pay advisers’ fees.

What they want to invest in is rapidly changing. No longer are people happy to sit by and see the environment get destroyed for a decent return on their investment. Millennial wealth management clients want to invest in social responsible and ethical opportunities. 

Here’s the really scary thing about the largest transfer of wealth in human history; a large proportion of those families who have been investing with financial advisers over the years, as soon as the money has been transferred, are firing their adviser. 

Why They Absolutely Do Need A Financial Adviser

Despite the staggering array of DIY investment platforms, oceans of seemingly sound investment advice on social platforms and endless opportunities to self-manage money, millennials most certainly do require the help of a financial services professional. 

True, access to very low cost investment opportunities are abundant and the platforms that are available seem to be able to tailor your investment inclination and risk appetite to help you achieve financial goals, but all is not as it seems.

The big issue, that will eventually come to pass, is that none of these investment platforms are actually allowed to offer financial advice. In order to be able to manage someone’s money and millennial wealth management clients with advice, exams have to be passed and strict regulations adhered to. What is offered by said platforms is financial guidance. Whilst this may seem like a minor difference, it could have massive implications for people self-managing their money. 

Investing on online platforms is actually very high-risk and relying on the guidance given by the available platforms could cause investors to lose all of their money and have only themselves accountable.

How To Target The Next Generation Of Millennial Wealth Management Clients

In the following sections of this article, we’re going to outline how you, as a wealth manager, are able to find and onboard the next generation of millennial wealth management clients. A word to the wise here. This is not a short term fix. If you’re hoping that a new secret method of Facebook targeting or power keywords from Google is going to magically transform your business, you’ll be sadly mistaken. This is a wholesale shift in mindset and direction. No more smashing the phones (huzzah!), no more maxing out your LinkedIn Sales Navigator Inbox Messages; this is a long term focus. You won’t get results today, tomorrow or next week, but if you do it right (or have us do it for you), then in a few months time, you will have something you can rely on.

Change The Way You Think About Your Service

In times gone past, as an adviser, you have acted as a service provider. Your clients outsourced their money for you to manage. Whilst this isn’t going to change in future, they way you position yourself will. We’ve already established that millennials don’t trust finance guys, but the fact that they are taking money matters into their own hands, means they recognise they need to do something. A large percentage of people are still financially illiterate and recognise that they still need help with their investments. Millennial wealth management clients appreciate quick and regular feedback, so your role needs to adjust to this. Millennials need to feel as though you are part of their team helping them to achieve their goals. They want your input, advice and feedback. If you can do this, you’re far more likely to be speaking their language.

Be Where They Exist Online

We’ve covered this before when creating your buyer personas. You need to think about where your target audience hangs out online, where they get their information from and how they consume it. 

Facebook recently announced that the future of the platform was private, meaning that groups are now a core focus of the business. Do a quick search on Facebook for financial literacy groups and you’ll find hundreds, with thousands of people in them all trying to learn about what to do with their money. Want to know why the people you message on LinkedIn won’t message you back? It’s because they know you’re trying to sell them something.

If you can join one or more of these groups across the internet and start providing loads of free, helpful information about the questions they ask. Guess what? They’re going to come back to you and ask for more. Now if only you had somewhere you could send them to learn more…

Provide Unbelievable Value For Free

Millennial wealth management clients have taken the sourcing of financial information into their own hands. They want or need to speak to an adviser, especially if they aren’t either ready or able to invest their money at the time. What if you had a resource that potential clients could access anytime they liked that gave them helpful, useful and practical advice about their finances and all it cost them was an email address to get it? Millennials are already doing their research and if you can help them to find the things they’re after then you’re able to build up that elusive element of trust.

So, what sort of things should you be creating? Things like:

• Articles
• Infographics
• Jargon busting guides
• Subject specific guides
• Calculators

You could even ask your new potential clients to sign up to a newsletter to get weekly market updates. All this ads to your potential reach for new millennial wealth management clients as they are likely to share this with their friends.

N.B. It’s highly likely you’re going to need your own website for this. Speak with us about how we can help you build one.

Ask Them About Their Financial Goals

This might seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but asking people about what they are saving money or investing for is a key way in which you can build a relationship and then tailor a financial plan to help them achieve it. Don’t forget, millennials want to feel like you are helping them with their goal, not just providing a service. 

Many people don’t know what they are saving for and so they simply save just to have the money, so starting a conversation with people long before they become a client can help you to better understand their needs, as well as provide information that other, similar people may need too (see above).

Millennial wealth management clients like to take an active role in their investments. Discussing and providing information on alternative investment opportunities, as well as sustainable and ethical options will set you apart from other advisers.

Reimagining Your Online Presence

The world of financial advice is changing. The reality is that if you aren’t already making that shift to tap into a new pipeline of millennial wealth management clients, who frankly, hate you right now, then you’re destined to go the way of the dinosaurs. Many large advisory firms are slowly waking up to the need for a digital presence, but progress is slow and often resisted. You can’t rely on a parent organisation to deliver you high quality leads, as they simply aren’t forthcoming, which is why many advisers are striking out on their own.

To learn more about how you can do this, or the different options that might be available to you as an advisor, book your FREE consultation with our team (worth $500) where you will discuss your goals, plans and challenges and at the end of the session have an actionable plan you implement immediately. Simply click the button below to get started.