Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond

by Chris Burniske

Having come of age through market crises, millennials are surprisingly conscious of their financial well-being. A recent study conducted through Facebook found millennials are highly educated, and perhaps due to the student loans required to gain this status, their financial situation is an important consideration in their life. In fact, 86 percent of millennials put money away each month.3 Equally interesting, according to a Goldman Sachs survey, 33 percent of millennials think they won’t need a bank by 2020.4 Seeing these statistics, it’s no wonder that many financial institutions are seeking ways to engage the millennial banking and investing client. The problem is that the business models of many wealth managers are not positioned to cater to millennials. Over the last two decades, wealth management firms have encouraged their financial advisors to sign up only investors with $250,000 in assets and move away from servicing all levels of investors.5 The reasoning has been to allow advisors to provide better service to a smaller base of clients, which is also good for profit margins. However, this means that their client base is aging. Because of these business policies, they are now less able to acquire and support young investors who are perhaps most in need of their assistance.