The New Generation of Investors: More Tools, More Information—and More Need for Good Advice

Investing used to require a fair amount of effort. You might have called a broker, filled out paperwork, mailed a check, and then waited patiently for something to happen.

Today, you can open an investment account from your couch, transfer money, buy a fractional share of a company, and check how it’s doing before your DoorDash order arrives.

For younger generations, investing has never been more accessible.

As we recognized International Youth Day on August 12, it’s worth looking at how younger adults are approaching investing and building wealth differently. Technology, social media, and changing financial priorities have transformed the way many young people interact with money.

That increased access is a good thing. But there is an important distinction between having financial tools and knowing how to use them as part of a thoughtful financial plan.

Your phone can help you buy an investment in seconds. It can also help you buy a $14 smoothie. We probably shouldn’t let it make all of our financial decisions.

Investing Is Easier. Financial Planning Isn't.

One of the biggest advantages younger investors have is how easy it is to get started.

Many investment platforms now offer commission-free trades, fractional shares, automated investing, and accounts with little or no minimum investment. Someone doesn't necessarily need thousands of dollars before beginning to invest.

That's a major improvement because time can be one of an investor's greatest assets. Starting early gives investments more time to potentially compound, even when the initial contributions are relatively small.

Technology has done an excellent job of removing barriers.

What it hasn't done is remove the decisions.

How much should you invest versus keep in cash? Should you pay down debt first? Roth or traditional? How much risk should you take? Should you buy a house? How does getting married or having children change the plan? And exactly how much money can you spend on travel before your financial advisor starts giving you that look?

These aren't questions an investment app can answer simply by recommending a portfolio.

That's where financial planning—and the guidance of a financial advisor—becomes valuable.

Everyone on Social Media Is Apparently a Financial Expert

Younger generations aren't just investing differently. They're learning about money differently.

TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, podcasts, and other platforms have made financial information more accessible than ever. Someone who would never read a 400-page investment book may happily watch a five-minute video explaining a Roth IRA.

There are real positives to this. More people are talking about investing, saving, taxes, financial independence, and retirement at younger ages.

But there's a catch.

Social media platforms are designed to reward attention, not necessarily good financial advice.

A confident person standing next to a rented Lamborghini can look surprisingly convincing on a six-inch screen.

And there's no shortage of opinions.

One person says to buy real estate. Another says to rent forever and invest the difference. One video says to pay off every dollar of debt immediately. The next says debt is your greatest financial tool. Then someone you've never heard of explains how they “retired” at 31.

Apparently, everyone on the internet is independently wealthy except the people watching the videos.

The problem isn't a lack of information anymore. It's figuring out which information actually applies to you.

That's one place where an advisor can provide something an algorithm can't: context.

Good financial advice isn't simply about whether an investment is “good” or “bad.” It's about whether a decision makes sense for your goals, circumstances, risk tolerance, taxes, time horizon, and overall financial plan.

Younger Investors Have Different Priorities

Younger generations are also navigating a financial environment that looks different from the one their parents or grandparents encountered.

Housing affordability, student loans, childcare costs, changing careers, remote work, side businesses, and the rising cost of everyday life can all influence financial decisions.

The traditional roadmap may therefore look less linear.

For some younger adults, success might mean buying a home. For others, it could mean having the flexibility to travel, start a business, change careers, retire early, or simply reach a point where money creates more choices.

None of those goals is inherently right or wrong.

But each requires different financial decisions.

Buying a house because “that's what you're supposed to do next” is a fairly expensive way to check a box.

A good financial plan starts by identifying what actually matters to you and then working backward to determine how your saving, investing, spending, insurance, taxes, and other financial decisions can support those goals.

Your investment app knows your account balance.

Your advisor should know why you're investing in the first place.

That's a pretty important difference.

Investing and Trading Aren't the Same Thing

Another challenge created by technology is that investing can start to feel like entertainment.

Market prices move constantly. Notifications pop up on your phone. Financial news never stops. There's always a new stock, fund, cryptocurrency, or “can't-miss” opportunity competing for attention.

When buying and selling takes only a few taps, doing nothing can feel surprisingly difficult.

But sometimes doing nothing is exactly what a good investor should do.

Long-term investing generally means building a diversified portfolio aligned with your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Trading focuses more heavily on shorter-term price movements and trying to determine what will happen next.

Technology has made both easier to do.

It has not made predicting the future any easier. If someone develops an app that reliably does that, please let me know.

One of the most valuable roles an advisor can play is helping investors stay focused when markets—or headlines—tempt them to abandon their plan.

Sometimes good financial advice involves making a change.

Sometimes it involves talking you out of one.

An Advisor Does More Than Pick Investments

There was a time when access to investments and investment information itself was a significant part of an advisor's value.

Today, anyone with a smartphone has access to both.

That doesn't make financial advice less valuable. In many ways, it makes it more valuable.

Investments are only one part of a person's financial life. There are also taxes, retirement accounts, insurance, cash flow, debt, employee benefits, estate planning, major purchases, family considerations, and short- and long-term goals.

And unfortunately, none of those things has the courtesy to operate independently.

A tax decision can affect an investment decision. A career change can alter your insurance and retirement planning. Buying a home affects cash flow. A market decline means something very different to someone retiring next year than it does to someone who won't need the money for 30 years.

An app can calculate.

An advisor can help you decide what the calculation actually means for your life.

And when markets fall 20%, an app probably isn't going to answer the phone and remind you why you built your plan the way you did.

The Tools Have Changed. The Fundamentals Haven't.

Younger investors have advantages previous generations never had.

They can start investing with relatively little money. They can automate savings. They have instant access to markets and an extraordinary amount of financial education.

Those are powerful tools.

But more tools also mean more choices—and more opportunities to make decisions without understanding how they fit together.

The fundamentals of building wealth remain remarkably durable: save consistently, invest appropriately, diversify, manage risk, pay attention to taxes and costs, avoid emotional decisions, and have a plan.

None of that is particularly exciting.

“Continued contributing to my diversified portfolio, ignored the market headlines, and stayed on track with my long-term financial plan” probably isn't going viral on TikTok.

That's okay.

Good financial planning isn't supposed to be entertainment.

Technology can make investing easier, faster, and more accessible. What it can't do is understand everything you're trying to accomplish, recognize when one financial decision affects five others, or sit across the table from you when life doesn't go according to plan.

That's where having a trusted financial advisor matters.

For younger generations, the opportunity isn't choosing between technology and professional advice. It's using the best of both: taking advantage of today's incredible financial tools while having an experienced person in your corner to help turn those tools into an actual strategy.

Because downloading an investing app takes about two minutes.

Building wealth—and avoiding questionable advice from a 23-year-old finance influencer filming from the driver's seat of a Lamborghini—takes a little longer.