Zoom in on wealth creation

The children of the internet age could teach the rest of us a thing or two about investing

- NICOLA FIELD

They’re tech savvy, eco-conscious and, according to the Australian Securities Exchange 2020 investor study, the fastest growing group of investors in the country. Meet the zoomers –members of generation Z, loosely defined as young adults under-25 or people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They’re also the generation embracing financial independence and shaking up the world of investing.

Gen Z has the weight of numbers. According to the advisory firm McCrindle Research, the zoomers are the largest generation yet, accounting for one in five Australians and almost 30% of the world’s population.

They’re also on the cusp of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history. Research by Griffith University and McCrindle, cited in a 2021 Australian government paper, estimated that the baby boomers would transfer $3.5 trillion in accumulated wealth to their children and grandchildren.

Not that the zoomers are waiting for hand-medown wealth.

More than half of gen Z (54%) already have up to $20,000 in savings or investments (excluding super) and one in four has up to $100,000 invested, according to the Responsible Investing Association Australasia (RIAA).

It’s not a bad achievement when you haven’t yet celebrated a 30th birthday. As we’ll see, when it comes to investing, gen Z is definitely not gen zzzzzz.

On the flipside, the zoomers face tough challenges. High property prices make saving for a home a financial ultramarathon, the online world is rife with scams and misinformation and super-low interest rates are fast fading into the history books.