The Bridge to Investing Maturity Path

Although banks and credit unions typically wait to target young investors until they amass enough wealth to serve profitably, advances in digital banking technology are changing the calculus of nurturing relationships. Javelin’s Bridge to Investing Maturity Path outlines a six-stage road map to cost-effectively target young customers as early as their first paycheck. Executing this strategy will require a transformative shift in digital banking to help-me-do-it experiences, an investment in proactive engagement and personalization, and patience. 

The Maturity Path begins with building a foundation of products and smooth account opening—the industry’s focus to date. Subsequent stages will steadily deepen trust by helping customers develop healthy money management skills, turning their focus to the future, prompting them to pivot to investing, coaching them to select their first investment products, maintaining their confidence through volatile markets, and opening the door to advisory relationships. Advances in financial fitness are a priority now, with Stage 3 requiring a technological leap by subtly expanding a customer’s focus on here-and-now finances to include long-term goals and thinking.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• How can digital banking groom the next generation of customers to feed into the wealth funnel?
• What features and capabilities typify each stage of the Bridge to Investing Maturity Path?
• Where are most financial institutions today on the maturity path?
• What are the chief obstacles that FIs face at each stage of maturity?

Companies Mentioned:

Revolut, Robinhood, SoFi