Wall Street is increasing its focus on attracting millennials, according a recent Bloomberg interview with Greg Fleming, president of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, at the recent SIFMA annual meeting. Fleming noted that by 2030, millennials will represent half of the workforce and stand to inherit the previous generation’s wealth. Fleming argued that the age group is less interested in face-to-face meetings (preferring such interactions once every six months or year), but more interested in checking portfolios regularly digitally. To better relate to those in the age group, Flemming says that Morgan Stanley is seeking to attract millennials into its financial advisor training program.
A recent study by Bank of America Merrill Lynch finds that millennials are enrolling in 401k plans at higher rates than other generations (55% for millennials versus a general rate of 37%) and represent a 20% larger slice of the study’s contributor population than it did in mid-2013. The study also found that the generation expects to rely on its own retirement savings more than any other generation.