Part 4:
Are zillennials investing?
The Zillennial Investing Report
NFTs
ETFs
IRAs
etc...
All the investing acronyms your peers throw around – but who is investing in them, and which are the most popular?
In the latest edition of the "ya, but who cares?" Zillennial Investing Report, we asked our survey respondents how they allocated their money between different investment types and asset classes. An asset class is a group of securities ("investments"), which may behave similarly in the market. Here were the options:
SINGLE STOCKS & BONDS
INDEX FUNDS
ETFS
CRYPTOCURRENCY
PHYSICAL ART
REAL ESTATE
NFTS
NONEWe then asked respondents to list any asset types not included above. Their answers made up less than 1% of total responses:
OPTIONS, COLLECTIBLE FURNITURE, PRIVATE COMPANIES (ANGEL, PRIVATE EQUITY, AND VENTURE CAPITAL)Insight5% of people are invested in nothing; 23% are invested in one asset class, and 71% are invested in more than one asset class.
How many assets are Zillennials invested in?
We LOVE diversity – especially in our investment portfolios. The more things you're invested in, the better! So it's no surprise that our peers have spread their coin across multiple asset classes and sectors of the economy.A Blackrock survey found that 45% of Zillennials are more interested in investing in the stock market today than they were five years ago. With a plethora of digital tools and investment apps at our fingertips, Zillennials can access the stock market and other investment options more easily than any previous generation.
InsightThe most popular investment types were Single Stocks & Bonds, followed by Index Funds, and ETFs.
What types of assets are Zillennials Invested in?
With online investing platforms, it's never been easier to put your money to work in the stock market, so it's not surprising that equity reigned supreme among our sample of Zillennials. 66% said they are currently invested in single stocks and bonds, while 54% are invested in index funds and 49% in ETFs. Cryptocurrency was the next most popular investment among our sample, with 42% of respondents saying they are invested in the space. Crypto is down bad (really bad), and we wonder how these 135 individuals fared as the market soured. Are they holding or selling? Perhaps a follow-up survey is warranted?
Real estate and NFTs -- two very opposing asset types -- landed at the bottom of the totem pole, with 16% and 11%, respectively. Considering that 42% of our respondents are invested in crypto, it makes sense that there are significantly fewer NFT holders (TLDR: you have to have crypto to buy NFTs). NFTs are more difficult to wrap your head around than the core cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There are likely a lot of fledgling crypto investors out there who want to gain exposure to the space but aren't quite ready to make the jump into NFTs.
Where are our real estate owners at? Are these 50 individuals homeowners? Landlords? Lord, who knows, but good for them. Still, real estate investors only made up a small fraction of our sample, which is expected within this age group.
InsightFemale and nonbinary respondents are ~8 and ~14 times more likely to be invested in nothing compared to male respondents
How do investment types vary by gender? How much?
So who exactly amongst our generation is dipping their toes into various asset classes? To no one’s surprise, men dominate the investment space and unfortunately, women are underrepresented.
There are several potential reasons as to why this may happen. Women respondents may feel less confident utilizing self-help tools and resources when it comes to financial advice and may rely on financial advisors for guidance.
While women are less likely to invest, when they do, they consistently outperform their male counterparts by 0.4% on average according to a study by Fidelity.
Other Supporting Statistics:
29% of women, 15% of men and 43% of non-binary respondents are invested in one asset
63% of women, 84% of men, and 43% of non-binary respondents are invested in two or more assets
InsightOther than physical art men, are more likely to invest in all asset classes (Single Stocks, Index Funds, ETFs, Crypto, NFTs, and Real Estate)
How do investment types vary by gender? How much? (continued)
On the other hand, male respondents were more likely to hold investments across all the asset classes included in our survey except for physical art, suggesting that they are generally more fluent in the investing world and willing to take risks compared to other gender groups. This finding is backed up by a study from Morningstar, which found that, on average, men expressed more confidence in their investing knowledge and were more likely to consider themselves investors. However, when comparing men and women in the same income bracket, the differences in investing behavior and confidence did not remain significant, suggesting that income is a dominant predictor of these behaviors. Long story short – if women’s incomes were on par with men’s, some of these disparities may let up.
Other Supporting Statistics:
Men are more than 30% more likely than non-binary, and almost 80% more likely than women to be invested in crypto
Men are more than 35% more likely than women to be invested in real estate
InsightNon-binary respondents invest in physical art 4 times more than women and almost 2 times more than men.
How do investment types vary by gender? How much? (continued)
Compared to women and men, non-binary respondents were less likely to invest in all asset classes except for physical art. For example, they are invested in single stocks & bonds less than half as much as the overall sample. Their interest in physical art can be explained by the fact that 86% of our non-binary respondents work in arts, media, and entertainment. Invest in what you know may be their strategy here.
InsightWhite and Asian respondents are most likely to be invested in more than 1 asset class.
How does it vary by race? How much?
Our survey found that nearly 80% of white and Asian respondents are invested in more than one asset class, compared to only 62% of Black respondents. We found similar disparities in our section on investment advisors and financial dependence -- fewer Black respondents received financial help from their parents, and they were more likely to manage their money themselves.
