Pity the media noise about millennials is not matched by their financial importance

I feel sorry for millennials. They are suffering from the same stereotypical generalisations that has plagued their parents and grand parents. Marketers think they are the only game in town. Many employers believe they are an infuriating bunch to manage. As always they reality is much more complicated.

The one thing that is for sure is that for some time - like a decade or two - their parents and their parent's parents will be a lot more important to the wealth management industry.

This chart, from The Deloitte Centre for Financial Services, says it all. It shows the total value of financial assets held by each generation.



A much repeated saying about China is that it will get old before it gets rich. Like all simplistic statements it has some elements of truth. I wonder if we will soon be saying the same about millennials. Its ironical that the intergenerational fairness lobby are succeeding in cutting benefits to older people but it will the young, when they reach their parent's age, that will suffer the most from these changes. Weird old world. Dick Stroud