Drilling Down on Gen X, Finance’s Middle Child

There is rampant concern that Gen X—those born from 1965 to 1980—will be the first U.S. demographic that doesn’t do as well financially as its parents, and that concern is well-grounded. It’s the first U.S. generation to confront, en masse, a particular issue: Gen Xers are caring for children and for parents who are living deep into their retirement years. Further, they are ridden with debt, the boulder in their financial pathway. They are ripe for the overtures of wealth advisors and a range of financial services.

The problem for Generation X specifically: It’s a small group—Generation X is not projected to overtake Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) in numbers until 2028—that is not positioned well to tame debt or feather the bed for retirement even as those autumn years approach, much less bear the financial burden posed by its generational crunch.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• What are the key characteristics of members of Generation X in terms of financial fitness, wealth, debt, and investment behaviors?
• Why are the members of Gen X significantly downcast about their prospects of eliminating debt and achieving a timely retirement?
• How can a range of financial services—wealth managers, vendors of self-directed investing software, bankers, and fintechs—reflect the needs of Gen X and appeal to this demographic segment?
   

Companies Mentioned:

CAIS, Huntington, iCapital, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo