It’s never too early to be preparing for the kind of encore that delivers a triple win for individuals, or communities and society as a whole.
At least that’s the assessment of The Economist. In their August 9th issue, they note that, “Now the younger baby-boomers’ children are moving into adulthood. This group, labelled Generation Y, may look like distant prospects, but much of the financial sector’s future success will ride on how soon (and how profitably) it grabs them when they reach their 20s.”
According to the consultancy KPMG, only about one-fifth of fund-management firms in several rich countries are actively selling products to Generation Y. A little more than another quarter of them say they will target it within five years.
But what’s the vision that these companies are selling to future generations? Youth today probably have an even harder time than today’s boomers seeing themselves playing out their 60s, 70s and 80s on a golf course. Not only are they at least as likely to need ongoing sources of income, they may very well be deferring opportunities for work that speaks to their passions today for less satisfying jobs that bring in a solid pay check.
Financial service companies that are thinking about pitching investment products to the boomer’s kids should think about what Gen Y might really want and need when they hit their encore years.