Younger investors catching up in wealth

Guess which demographic group is joining the ranks of the affluent the fastest?  No, not baby boomers. The rising wealth accumulators are Gen X and Gen Y investors, making younger workers prime targets for employer-based financial and retirement planning education initiatives.

Investors under age 45 account for one-third of all Americans with more than $100,000 in investable assets, up from 20% in 2010, according to Meredith Rice, senior project director at Cogent Research, a market research consulting group.

The rise in wealth may be due to young investors displaying greater financial savviness, as Cogent finds Gen Yers putting more money into low-risk investments — possibly out of a “wealth preservation mindset” or fear of market volatility, according to Rice — and working with financial advisors. Eight in 10 worked with a financial advisor in 2012.

Margarida Correia is Associate Editor of Bank Investment Consultant, a SourceMedia publication.