Don’t we all love to pigeonhole, about as much as we hate to be pigeonholed. It’s fair to say that the majority of financial advisers’ clients fit in the ‘Boomer’ hole, those born between 1946 and 1964, with an increasing number of 1965 to 1980 Ten X-ers, who are either at-retirement or reaching the age when it’s suddenly imminent. It’s the 1981-1996 Millennials whom we should all, apparently be wooing. They’re happy to do a lot of stuff online, although not as happy as the next lot, Gen Z, for whom it will go without saying and be second nature; and they’re more likely to want to invest ethically, too. Well, I don’t know. People are people, and there are as many ‘let someone else save the planet, I just want to make money’ types amongst 40 somethings as there are in the next layer; and vice verse. And yes to the more Zooming and Teams-ing; but again, just as many want to put both a face and a body to a name. Remember, it’s not just the over-60s who are buying all those vinyl records.
“Worry for profession as young adviser numbers plummet”
There are around 31,000 advisers currently authorised by the FCA to give advice. Of these only around 6% are under 30 and 84% of all advisers are male. There are 209,000 solicitors, 7,000 young ones enter the profession each year and 52% of all solicitors are now female.
