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Gen Z are trying to tame the volatile world of stocks to gain some agency over their own finances. Weirdly, it makes a lot of sense.
Remember when ‘buying stocks’ was something your mate’s dad did after three pints and a shit week at the bookies? Well Gen Z has changed that, more out of necessity, than anything.
According to Morning Consult, 62% of Gen Zers in the US now own some form of investment outside of their pensions, while in the UK, platforms like Interactive Investor have seen usage by under-25s almost triple since 2020.
So why is it that we’re too anxious to make phone calls, but apparently brave enough to chuck our wages into the volatile slot machine that is the stock market?
In short, the pandemic gave everyone a lot of time, a little extra cash, and opened us up to the sort of existential dread that makes you open an investing app at 2am – if you weren’t already busy on bet365.
Suddenly, the idea of ‘making your money work for you’ became more appealing than letting it rot in a bank account, or spending it all on Deliveroo and Omaze house draws.
Home ownership, once the ultimate symbol of success, has basically been priced out of the plot. In the UK, the average house now costs about 9x the average salary, while saving enough for a deposit in the US would also take a quarter-century on their average base-wage.
With that door shut in the minds of many young workers, stocks became the slightly unhinged side entrance; it’s not guaranteed to lead anywhere, but at least it feels like doing something.
This shift has also coincided with a rise in DIY finance culture. Investing is no longer confined to older blokes in steamed linen shirts. It’s in TikToks, Reddit threads, Discord groups, and almost every one is traceable to a Monzo.
It doesn’t mean everyone is trying to become a day-trading tech bro, or buy a white Bentley. It’s about gaining a sense of financial agency. Besides, a lot of Gen Z investors are surprisingly clued up and sensible with their investments.
Fidelity found that more than half prefer slow, long-term strategies: index funds, ethical portfolios, or leaving the initial plan to play out in full – the opposite of their approach to Fantasy Premier League.
This isn’t inspired by Wolf of Wall Street, it’s a curated and rewarding way of supplementing savings that aren’t tied up in physical assets – because many of us don’t have them.
It’s not just economic, either, it’s cultural. This is a generation that grew up watching financial systems collapse, tuition fees explode, supermarket meal deals increasingly take the mick, and landlords charge £1,300 a month for a flat with a broken loo.
They’re not risk-averse, per se, they’re just realists. And they’d rather gamble with a couple-hundred in a stock than wait for a pension that may or may not exist due to climate change, or the mysterious health consequences of vaping and snus.
Gen Z, by and large, have enough self-control to manoeuvre their finances to live the way they want, as shown by their leaning towards unlocking credit and ‘soft saving’ for holidays several times a year.
It’s the same sense of control – and we use that loosely – in stocks that underpins its popularity with Gen Z. You’re not entirely at the mercy of interest rates and may earn enough commission to have the occasional Sainsbury’s shop over Lidl.
It’s far from foolproof, but Gen Z isn’t investing to become rich. They just don’t want to go broke playing the game the old-fashioned way.
See also:
- Why are Gen Z craving a return to the office?
- Do Gen Z really prefer thrifting over fast furniture?
- Gen Z are taking ‘situationship sabbaticals’
