Looking for Gen Y Clients? Here's Five Places to Start

Based on conversations with more than 20,000 professionals, a new white paper proposes five natural starting places where planners can look for members of the 80 million-person-strong Generation Y, which will account for the next generation of financial planning clients.

The paper is co-published by Wells Fargo affiliate First Clearing Correspondent Services and Jason Dorsey, chief strategy officer of the Austin-based Center for Generational Kinetics, which studies generational trends.

They suggest planners look for:

  • Children and grandchildren of existing, older clients
  • Entrepreneurs and serial startup employees
  • Outliers such as athletes and celebrities
  • Community leaders and social connectors
  • Existing Gen Y clients who are not fully utilizing a planner's services

"Engaging one of more of these Gen Y subgroups requires aligning your own strengths and skills to Gen Y's buying triggers," according to the authors.
They also point out that a select group of Gen yers have already amassed significant wealth.

The so-called "Millenial Moguls" number close to 9,000 nationwide, they say. Last year there were 8,100 tax filers under age 35 with adjusted gross incomes of $1 million or more, the authors write, citing IRS figures. Another 409 reported $10 million or more in income, the paper claims.

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