Advisers told to rethink how they engage with young Aussies

The Productivity Commission has projected that Aussie Baby Boomers will pass on approximately $224 billion each year in inheritance by 2050, but according to new research Gen Z and Millennials are wary of financial advisers.

Namely, research by Findex has shown that there is an overall apprehension about getting professional wealth advice with just 45 per cent of Gen Zs and 44.7 per cent of Millennials open to using a financial planner in the future.

Adding to this, Findex found that 29 per cent of all respondents were only willing to pay less than $500 per year for a financial adviser where the industry average currently sits at around $3,256.

Instead, younger Aussies — an average of 25 per cent among Gen Z and Millennials — are turning to their peer groups for financial advice or doing their own research (47 per cent).

This gap in the market presents a clear opportunity for advisers to work with their Baby Boomer clients to empower their children or grandchildren, not only with the transfer of wealth but also with the transfer of financial literacy, said Findex Co-CEO Tony Roussos.

"This is a wake-up call for the wealth industry to seriously rethink how we engage with younger Australians," Mr Roussos said.

"By financial advisers investing the time to build multi-generational client relationships earlier on, the wealth is hopefully secured and grown over the long term," he noted.

Findex also looked into how Aussies engage with financial advisers and found that overall, when looking for an adviser, people tend to consider honesty (47 per cent), expertise (45.5 per cent) and putting clients’ interests first (41.7 per cent) as top qualities.

Those who have a financial adviser prefer to deal with them face to face (66.7 per cent) with their main financial goals being to build wealth (27.1 per cent), have peace of mind (26.3 per cent) and consult with someone with more financial expertise than themselves (23.7 per cent).