Younger generations of Americans are starting to invest earlier: Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, started saving and investing at an average age of 19, while Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, didn’t start until they were, on average, 35.
The insights come from Charles Schwab’s latest Modern Affluent Study, which surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 21 to 75 about their investment habits, along with 200 members of Gen Z. Despite starting investing earlier, Gen Z unsurprisingly has the lowest percentage of investors at 45%, compared to 54% of millennials (born 1981-1996), 58% of Gen X (born 1965-1980), and 63% of baby boomers.
The survey showed growing optimism about investing: 60% of respondents said they feel they are better positioned to achieve their financial goals than previous generations. Gen Z attributes their confidence to easier access to investing and more ways to invest. “This is a decades-long evolution, where individual investors are now able to access capital markets, stocks, bonds and cash to build wealth,” says Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Schwab.
This access doesn’t extend to seeking advice from social media influencers, which 76% of respondents declined to do. “Finance is a complex field and responding to social media and trying to cut through the noise can be extremely difficult,” Williams says.
Email: Editor
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
last week
market
French President Emmanuel Macron called for early general elections following the victory of his right-wing party in the European Union elections. French government bonds and bank shares were sold. The International Energy Agency predicted a sharp increase in the oil surplus by 2030. Stocks rose ahead of two events on Wednesday: May inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement. Inflation fell to 3.3% and the Fed kept interest rates unchanged. Stocks ended mixed, except for technology stocks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
It fell 0.54%
S&P 500
Increased by 1.58%
Nasdaq Composite Index
It increased by 3.24%.
Enterprise
Apple announced a deal with Open AI at its developer conference to integrate ChatGPT into its devices. Elon Musk threatened to ban Apple from his company as a security risk, then dropped the lawsuit saying Open AI had abandoned its original mission. Tesla shareholders approved Musk’s roughly $48 billion compensation package. Oracle announced AI deals with Google and Microsoft, despite mediocre results.
,
and OpenAI. EU Raises Tariffs on Chinese EVs, China Promises Retaliation. KKR
,
Crowdstrike
,
GoDaddy joins the S&P 500.
Bargain Deals
National Amusements’ Shari Redstone has closed negotiations with Skydance Media over the Paramount Global deal.
.
The stock price has fallen. The next big thing, according to The Wall Street Journal, is Edgar Bronfman, backed by Bain Capital and Hollywood producer Steven Paul, who is raising funds for the takeover. Elliott Management, which has a $2 billion stake in Southwest, wants to replace the airline’s management and strategy.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
next week
6/18 Tuesday
Census Bureau The U.S. reported retail sales data for May. The consensus estimate was $707 billion, up 0.3% from the previous month. Retail sales were flat in April compared to March. Excluding autos, retail sales are expected to increase 0.2% in April.
Wednesday, June 19
Stocks and Bonds The market will be closed for Independence Day on June 19th.
Thursday, June 20th
Census Bureau New residential construction data is out for May. Economists expect seasonally adjusted private housing starts to reach an annual rate of 1.4 million, up 40,000 from April.
Friday, June 21st
S&P Global release Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ Index for June. Manufacturing PMI is expected to be 51.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
The services PMI came in at 54.6, compared with 51.3 and 54.8 in May.
National Association The Association of Realtors reports existing home sales for May. The seasonally adjusted annual number of sales is expected to be 4.1 million, roughly in line with April data.
Numbers
1.3%
The percentage of America’s 68 million white-collar workers who were promoted in the first quarter was the lowest in the past five years.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
$40 trillion
Total U.S. retirement assets rose 4.3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter and surpassed 2021 totals.
$17.5 trillion
Americans hold their cash in commercial bank accounts, and the average savings account pays just 0.45% interest.
$4.5 billion
The amount that cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs agreed to pay to the SEC, one of the largest penalties ever for civil fraud.
Write Robert Teitelman bob.teitelman@dowjones.com
