New research from Unbiased highlights the negative impact of generational stereotypes in personal finance, leading to consumer inertia or blindly following assumptions based on age.
Unbiased, the UK’s leading platform for finding a financial adviser, has released a new report that highlights the pervasive impact of generational labels such as ‘Millennial’ and ‘Boomer’ on financial behaviour and outcomes.
As a warning to advisers, the report includes analysis of over 2,500 articles in mainstream personal finance media – conducted with UCL researchers – highlighting the pervasive narratives at play that affect behaviour and outcomes, including:
Heroes, Villains, or completely forgotten
- 53% of personal financial conversations in the media portray Baby Boomers negatively, often as ‘selfish’ or ‘greedy villains’.
- 57% cast millennials as victims, describing them as hapless and disadvantaged.
- Gen X are presented as irrelevant, appearing in just 5% of articles despite representing about 20% of the population.
- Crucially, almost half of articles comparing Boomers to other generations (48%) are antagonistic, promoting conflict over shared experiences. This rises to 56% when comparing Boomers and Millennials, and 86% when looking at Boomers and Gen Z, emphasising the generational difference between them.
- The level of antagonism compares to just 15% of articles about Boomers that refer to generational commonalities – a figure that drops to just 8% when looking at Millennials, and 0% when compared to Gen Z.
Emotive language fosters feelings of disempowerment
- Boomers: are described using words like ‘lucky’ and ‘comfortable’ that imply passive success, suggesting they are wealthy due to birth rather than effort. This can be particularly disaffecting for Baby Boomers who are not financially secure or those who have worked hard throughout their lives.
- Millennials: face a negative landscape dominated by words related to poor mental health and financial wellbeing (‘stressed’, ‘frustrated’, ‘anxious’, ‘overwhelmed’), reflecting the idea that they are a ‘stuck’ generation. Any positive language is largely passive (‘optimistic’, ‘hopeful’), again implying that they are ‘waiting for a windfall’ rather than working to achieve their financial goals.
- Gen Z: face more negative psychological traits that express their more precarious state of affairs (‘lazy’, ‘stressed’) as well as generational merging with millennials (‘resent’, ‘risk’, ‘challenges’). However, it is noted that they are a more ‘confident’ generation and that they are more likely to take greater risks with their money.
Guided by useless advice
- Less than a quarter (24%) of articles targeting generations provided specific financial guidance; most focus broadly on the above generational tensions and the economic landscape.
- The vast majority of financial guidance articles (44%) provide extremely general and shallow recommendations, consisting of platitudes like ‘stick to your shopping list,’ ‘try out new money-saving hacks,’ and ‘have an emergency fund’, rather than addressing the nuances of individual financial circumstances.
Leading behavioural psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos explains how these factors can influence behaviour, for consumers and advisers alike:
“Generational stereotypes are so often negative and so frequent in conversations that they embed themselves into our inner voices. And so they become ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’ because once they are part of our thoughts, they inform our attitudes and behaviours and these can be very difficult to overcome without conscious effort.”
Guidance for advisors
In response to these findings, Unbiased has shared guidance for advisers on how to challenge common narratives and foster more inclusive conversations that drive action over inertia.
- Understand impact: Recognise how generational labels drive inertia around personal finances and discourage people from seeking advice.
- Be mindful of the language used in financial discussions: Avoiding terms that reinforce negative stereotypes, and instead use language that empowers clients to take control of their financial futures.
- Tailor your advice: Always provide bespoke advice based on individual circumstances, not broad generational labels. And encourage clients to think this way, giving them the tools and knowledge needed to make informed decisions.
- Challenge assumptions: Work to dismantle stereotypes to ensure advice remains accessible and effective for all clients, regardless of age.
Karen Barrett, CEO and Founder of Unbiased, said:
“The biggest challenges facing the financial advice sector are not merely AI or tech adoption. The real existential challenge lies in making sure advice is accessible to everyone who needs it. Generational labels could be undermining our efforts to close that advice gap, driving inertia and misleading advice. As an adviser, your words must always be fair, clear, and not misleading. Because if you get it wrong, the consequences could be significant for your clients. You exist to help them, to empower them, and your words play a key role.”
The full report can be downloaded from here!
