Young Americans are rewriting what financial success looks like
For advisors, this behavioral data matters. Clients who are actively managing cash flow through these micro-strategies are demonstrating financial engagement and are likely receptive to structured guidance that builds on those instincts.
Gen Z: entrepreneurial, crypto-curious, and underconfident
The survey surfaces a generational fault line worth noting. Gen Z stands out for its entrepreneurial confidence, with 77 percent saying they believe they can start a business, compared with 58 percent of other generations. That same cohort is four times more likely than baby boomers to have invested in cryptocurrency (26 percent versus 6 percent) according to the SoFi data.
That risk appetite coexists with significant financial anxiety. The SoFi findings align with what U.S. Bank reported in its own 2026 Wealth Survey: despite starting their wealth-building journeys at age 19 on average – earlier than any prior generation – 56 percent of Gen Z respondents said they had done everything right but were not where they hoped to be financially.
Brian Walsh, CFP and Head of Advice & Planning at SoFi, pointed to the broader forces at play. “Today, higher costs, a changing workforce and rapid advances in AI are reshaping how Americans balance goals like buying a home and retiring comfortably with immediate priorities like paying down debt, building an emergency fund and enjoying life today,” Walsh said.
What this means for your practice
The SoFi data arrives as advisors are navigating a moment of significant demographic transition. According to Cerulli Associates, approximately $124 trillion in wealth is expected to transfer from older to younger generations by 2048, with millennials poised to receive $46 trillion of that total. The advisors positioned to capture those relationships are those who understand what younger clients actually value and it is not simply asset accumulation.
