Study: Millennial Couples Don’t Always Share Investment Decisions

When it comes to making investments, most Millennial couples have no problem ceding the decision making to one of the partners, according to a new study from E*Trade Financial Corp.

 

Although the study found that 65 percent of Millennial couples discuss their investment portfolio on a regular basis—only 50 percent of the total population engages in this type of conversation—82 percent of Millennials polled by E*Trade said they were comfortable with their partner making investing decisions without them, a much higher share than the 55 percent of the total population.

 

 

\Furthermore, 64 percent of Millennials polled for the study claimed they make investment decisions without informing their partner, compared to 46 percent of the total population. But those decisions are not always guilt-free: 49 percent of the Millennial investment decisionmakers expressed guilt for acting unilaterally, versus 24 percent of the total population.
“While it’s promising that this generation is discussing their finances more, it’s less encouraging that they’re making investment choices independently,” said Mike Loewengart, Vice President of Investment Strategy at E*Trade. “Millennials face a great many financial headwinds, including student debt, inflated housing prices, and health care costs. The need for families to take a holistic approach to wealth management is arguably even more important for these young savers, and in fact may help to alleviate the guilt registered in the study.”