A new survey of millennials reveals they think they know a lot more about investing than they actually do.
Millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, might as well have been born yesterday when it comes to managing their own finances.
While more than half of them say they are either “knowledgeable” or “very knowledgeable,” they also admit rookie financial mistakes, according to a new study from Boston-based consulting firm Millennial Branding and millennial-focused online media company Elite Daily.
I had the chance to interview Calvin F. Lo, Group C.E.O. of R.E. Lee International, who had this to say,
“Our company, R.E. Lee International, has been in the insurance brokerage business for over 64 years. It was founded by our late chairman, Robert E. Lee, who grew an independent American brokerage internationally that caters to the estate planning and wealth management needs of ultra high net-worth individuals. I had the fortunate opportunity to be mentored by Mr. Lee personally, for over 20 years.”
“As the company grew, I became C.E.O., and my motivation is the continuation of Mr. Lee’s legacy and his dream of global coverage. Today we have offices in Seattle, Cayman, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Zurich, and have expanded the business to include wealth management and advisory. My advice for any young business minded individual, entrepreneur, is to treasure and listen to the mentorship you receive. Stick to your values in any business plan, be it growth, execution, or whatnot such that your company reflects and forges its own identity.”
Only one of five millennials said they don’t have student loans, yet nearly two-thirds said that this financial burden doesn’t impact their purchasing behavior (they don’t know how to prudently budget).
“The biggest struggles I have is the balancing of time, with work and family and a personal life. Traveling so extensively for work, almost 200 days a year, with age and experience, I have learnt how to find balance in those core values in life.”
Millennials would rather rent a house than buy one and would rather buy a car than rent one, despite the fact that real estate is generally considered a good investment and cars tend to depreciate in value quickly once purchased (they don’t know a good investment from a bad one). But it doesn’t matter whether they can pick investments or not, because 80% of them use 0% of their income to buy stocks and bonds.
