Finance & Economics

Gen Z investors are putting their savings at risk: here’s why

Nearly half are investing their money for less than 5 years

savings investing

Gen Z investors are putting their savings at risk: here’s why. Source: shutterstock.com

According to Barclays, many Gen-Zers are taking a riskier approach to investing, looking to “get rich quick” by investing for the short-term.

Short and sweet is the aim of the game for 18-24 year old investors, with 49% planning to only invest money for 2-5 years. Meanwhile, 21% of Gen Z investors say they are investing to take advantage of the market and 16% plan to ‘play the markets’ to get rich quick.

This short-term investment view is not shared by older investors. Millennials are more life-goal motivated, with 31% investing towards a specific goal, such as buying a house.

Nearly two-thirds of over 55s say they are investing for their long-term future and, on average, 45-55 year olds are planning to invest their money for over 10 years.

The survey has found that younger generations have taken more risk with their investments over the last year, with 30% of 18-24 year olds admitting to upping their risk appetite, compared to only 18% of 35-44 year olds.

The last year has also seen younger investors pick up investing habits that are traditionally viewed as unfavorable – a quarter of Gen Z investors admit to checking their portfolio more often. At the same time, 17% are placing trades more frequently and 14% of young investors admit to making more speculative investments since the start of the pandemic.

It’s great to see an increase in young people interested in investing, but it’s worrying to hear that so many Gen-Zers are looking for a short-term win, rather than investing for the long-term through a balanced portfolio. The last year has seen many people enter the market for the first time and, if you’ve done well, it’s often easy to assume that you can replicate your success in the years to come – but that’s not always the case
Rob Smith, Head of Behavioural Finance at Barclays Wealth

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