According to The Wall Street Journal the millennial (or Generation Y) age bracket’s move to settling down and securing reasonably well-paid jobs is pushing companies to revamp marketing and products, especially financial ones.
Millennials expect digital first service
These products are being marketed online, given the increased use and familiarity of millennials with communications, media, and digital technologies. This pattern also reflects the different expectations of millennials in terms of multi-channel access and the types of financial products made available. One such example is the expectation of having more personalized banking products or services.
Robo-advisors targeted to millennials
This shift has presented new opportunities for fintech startup, according to David Semerad, writing for Forbes. The commentator notes how many fintech companies understand how conventional banking and investment avenues are not attractive to many millennials. Instead this means different mobile apps the the replacement of human financial advisors with robo-advisors.
Some fintech companies are phasing out human financial advisors with machine-advisors, with decisions based on big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence. This is to create new investment services for the emerging generation of investors. Not only is the use of this technology heralded as being successful, in terms of wealth maximization, it appeals to the most technologically-tuned societal group.
An example app is Grifin, which uses machine learning to create customized stock portfolios for new investors, based on the individual’s unique interests and preferences. A second case is Upstart, which is a digital loan services.
In related millennials and technology news, the company Mylo is targeting millennials with less money to spare for investments. This is through an automated savings scheme where ‘spare change’ is electronically invested. This is outlined in the Digital Journal article “Mylo, a fintech app that invests Canadians spare change.”
