“More than half of Millennial investors see the social responsibility of their investments as an important selection criteria, compared with less than 30 percent of WWII-era investors and 42 percent of Gen X investors.” 1
Millennials are often cited in investment-related headlines, especially as the generation accumulates more and more wealth. Their perceived lack of interest in traditional financial goals like home ownership or car ownership and inclination to spend money on experiences, such as food and travel, appear to be disrupting industries. Even their career paths and desired job perks tend to illustrate a shift in priorities.
In 2017, strategy intelligence firm Department26 surveyed 1,000 Millennials to gauge their thoughts on employment. Betsy Wecker, a director at the firm, stated, “The most important thing isn’t building up this huge stash of money just to have it… for Millennials the goals are totally different: if they can pay their bills and travel a little, what matters most is that they are doing something inspiring that they feel passionately about.“2
image source: entrepreneur.com
It may come as no surprise then that Millennials also want their investments to fall in line with their values. More than half of Millennial investors (52 percent) see the social responsibility of their investments as an important selection criterion, compared with less than 30 percent of WWII-era investors and 42 percent of Gen X investors.3 According to Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing’s 2017 Sustainable Signals report, “Americans in their 20s and 30s are twice as likely as the overall investor population to put their money in companies targeting SRI’s [socially responsible investments],”4 For a large majority of Millennials, the best part of investing is the impact their money can have on making the world a better place.
{{cta(‘f4b37e06-8cce-4e20-ab5a-781e3a0ea30b’,’justifycenter’)}}
1 https://spectrem.com/Content/press-release-millennials-report-release-011718.aspx
2 https://money.cnn.com/2017/12/29/pf/millennials-work/index.html
3 https://spectrem.com/Content/press-release-millennials-report-release-011718.aspx