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Owing to sheer youth, it’s difficult for advisors to justify getting too carried with catering to Gen Z. After all, the oldest members of that demographic are 28 today with the range starting at just 13 years.
In other words, lots of Gen Zers aren’t even in high school yet. Many more haven’t yet gone to college and others aren’t yet in the workforce. To be sure, those are facts, but that doesn’t mean advisors should take their eyes off Gen Z. There’s mounting evidence supporting the notion that the wealth management community should be readying strategies and tools specific to Gen Z.
Notably, Gen Z isn’t sitting idly by waiting for their financial futures to take shape without their input. For all the talk about “quiet quitting” and slack on-the-job performance, the reality of Gen Z appears starkly different. Consider the findings in Morgan Stanley’s 2025 Summer Intern Survey.
The investment bank 700 of its U.S. and European interns with many of the responses worth of advisor consumption. As a prime example, 89% said their career is their primary focus at the moment, up from 86% in 2024. Other tidbits for advisors to consider: After their jobs, Gen Z rank relationships and traveling as priorities, ahead of starting families and saving for retirement.
Gen Z Tech Takes
As advisors know, the younger a client or prospect is, the more likely they are to be tech-savvy and expect the same of their fiduciary. Indeed, Gen Zers display some level of enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI), but that affinity is surprisingly measured.
“AI use is booming. 96% use it at least occasionally, and daily use has more than doubled since last year,” according to Morgan Stanley. “And while young professionals see AI as a time-saving tool, many say it still needs improvement and question its accuracy.”
There was also acknowledgement among the Morgan Stanley interns that humanoid robots could eventually replace some human jobs and that technology has some downside. Nearly half of the bank’s European interns said technology is adversely affecting their mental wellbeing, a sharp increase from the percentage seen in the 2024 survey.
Gen Z Crypto Surprises
Spend enough time on various investing subs on Reddit and other related forums across social media and it’s clear Gen Z has a flair for risk when it comes to investing – a luxury they can afford due to youth. They love meme stocks meme coins and “YOLOing” with options. At least that’s the perception of them.
Perception isn’t always reality, particularly when it comes to Gen Z and cryptocurrency. In what’s likely to surprise some advisors, just 18% of the Morgan Stanley interns said they currently own or use digital currencies and a mere 26% said they’re interested in the asset class.
A strong case can be made that the lack of crypto interest among Morgan Stanley interns isn’t representative of Gen Z as a whole (it likely isn’t), but the good news in that scenario is that some younger investors see value in tried-and-true approaches to investing and aren’t willing to risk their hard-earned dollars in search of quick riches.
Related: Here’s One Way Younger Clients Have Older Peers Beat