The Generation Y crowd in their late twenties and early thirties may not have much cash to spare on services or big nest eggs to invest. Still, some planners are proving that it's possible to attract clients at the beginning of their careers. The key is reaching them through their preferred venues - email, text, online videos, Facebook and Twitter - and spelling out how planning advice today can help them grow their wealth much faster.

The benefits to your bottom line, though not immediate, could be substantial. "We're planting seeds today to sow our biggest clients tomorrow," says Debbie Grose, 42, director of financial planning for Lighthouse Financial Planning in Folsom, Calif.

The combined net worth of Gen X and Gen Y will triple by 2018 to $28 trillion, according to Deloitte, and Gen Y assets will make up about a quarter of that amount. Deloitte projects Gen Yers will receive $18 trillion from their baby boomer parents. With imaginative pricing, it may even be possible to make a small profit on these clients now.

Catching Their Attention

Not surprisingly, young planners say their peers like to talk to people their own age. A 60-year-old may come off as an "authority figure," says Ben Birken, 34, a planner with Woodward Financial Advisors in Chapel Hill, N.C. About 30% of his firm's new clientele so far this year have been young couples.

He finds young professionals in their own habitats - by conducting seminars for parents at his daughter's preschool or for graduate students and young professionals at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Many state universities, including UNC, tie health care benefits to their pensions, and employees may need to choose between a defined benefit or defined contribution plan.

Rebecca Schreiber, 33, a planner with Solid Ground Financial Planning in Silver Spring, Md., says Gen Yers tend to be referred to planners by a group of their peers on social media or a trusted organization. For example, the Washington, D.C., financial literacy nonprofit, Capital Area Asset Builders, invites Schreiber to teach nonprofit professionals how to manage debt on a tight budget, and many attendees then come to Schreiber for one-time consultations on how to become more independent financially.

Schreiber also conducts workshops and teleconferences for Wi$eUp, a financial education program designed by the U.S. Department of Labor. One recent event was for employees of the White House's Office of Management and Budget. "I use the program for business development," she says. "I have the endorsement of the Labor Department, and Gen Yers trust that kind of referral."

Older planners can also attract Gen Yers if they take the time to answer their questions without speaking down to them, says D. Bruce Johnston, CEO of Advisolocity, a Tuttle, Okla., marketing consulting firm for planners. "Gen Yers will talk to their friends, parents and other trusted sources, do their own personal research, and then they will come to you with specific questions to get more in-depth knowledge," Johnston says.

Gen Yers will also be more attracted to planners who first contact them digitally, he says. "If you're not engaging in social media, then you're going to miss out, because that's where young people live," Johnston says.

Overcoming Wariness

According to a 2010 survey of investor risk tolerance by the Investment Company Institute, Gen Y investors were less likely to take "above-average risk" and more likely to take "average" risk than Generation X investors. Still, according to recent Vanguard research, younger investors are getting more experience with stocks: the average equity allocation of the youngest participants - age 20 - in defined contribution plans rose 44 percentage points from 2003 to 84.7% in 2010. They were more likely to be enrolled automatically by their employers and to choose target-date funds.

Overcoming wariness means you need to be more than congenial. "With baby boomers, it's more about, 'How can we be part of your team, how can we serve you,'" Grose says. Younger investors need to see exactly what "they are going to get for their money."

Planners need to communicate authentically, particularly if they are marketing to Gen Yers through blogs or other social media venues, says R.J. Weiss, a 26-year-old planner and insurance producer for Weiss Insurance Agencies. "A lot of people try to fake social media," says Weiss, who also runs the GenYWealth.com. blog. "But you've got to make it very personable and interactive - share how you've overcome your mistakes."

Creative Pricing