It makes sense that the Millennial generation – people currently in their twenties and thirties – don’t think too much about saving and investing. After all, the time spent in your twenties is generally a fun ride without too much thought put into what may come down the line. Once you hit your thirties, things start to become a bit more serious, but it still feels like there’s time to put it off until tomorrow.
Staff working in HR are well aware of what happens when Millennials live paycheck to paycheck – their money management goes south, and they end up more stressed out at work and unable to concentrate. Fortunately, financial education programs have been looking at ways to capture the attention and engagement of Millennials, and getting them where they spend the majority of their time – on their mobile devices – seems to be the key.
It’s understandable if Millennials don’t find investing “cool,” or if they feel like they can just put their future off for another day. In addition to HR providing financial education as part of employees’ benefits, they can also recommend fun mobile apps like these to help Millennials take control of their financial future.
FinMason
When it comes to investments, something that tends to intimidate Millennials is the amount of statistics, pie charts, and strange mathematical symbols that pop up everywhere. Dealing with money can be daunting enough – especially if you don’t have a lot of it – but adding in foreign financial jargon is likely to scare Millennials off. That’s where FinMason comes in – it puts investment language in straightforward terms and uses bar graphs for its portfolio comparisons rather than pie charts. In an article on US News, FinMason CEO Kendrick Wakeman is quoted as saying that “After seeing our analysis, 73 percent of them became comfortable with a portfolio recommendation.” The app is also available for free, which makes it a good starter for money-curious Millennials who want to get into investing but don’t know where to start.
Acorns
The typical Millennial doesn’t have a ton of extra money to throw around, let alone spare cash to put into investments. But what if that spare cash was the loose change in their pockets? That’s the thinking behind Acorns, which focuses on investments in small amounts – almost a risk-free proposal for Millennials. IntelligentHQ explains that Acorns takes the spare change left over from debit and credit card transactions, rounds it up to the nearest dollar, and then invests it in one of six funds of the user’s choice. Think of Acorns as being like training wheels for Millennials who want to dip their toes into the world of investments, but without sinking a ton of cash.
Kapitall
What better way to market to Millennials than by tapping in to their love of video games? The gamification of real life continues with Kapitall, “the fusion of investing and gaming” according to their promotional materials. There’s practice trading mode for when your employees want to test out their skills (they get a “practice portfolio” of $100,000 to play with), and tournament trading mode for when they want to virtually compete against others. They even offer “Robo-Portfolios” where an algorithm determines advisory solutions for automated investment options. It’s a colorful, icon-driven take on investing that’s sure to appeal to Millennials who want some fun along with their portfolios.
iQuantifi
One of the big reasons why Millennials shy away from seeking money help is because they’re intimidated by making an appointment with a financial advisor. iQuantifi was created to be a virtual financial advisor of sorts, aiming to attract younger individuals who want to set budgetary goals for milestones in their lives (think buying a car, getting a mortgage on a house, and so on). There’s less of a focus on investments here and more of a focus on creating benchmarks for savings, as well as determining financial goals. iQuantifi is a great option for teaching Millennials the value of saving now in order to get a notable payoff later on, when they’ll need it the most.
Openfolio
Along with gamification, it’s extremely popular to create social networks in order to engage Millennials, and Openfolio does just that – but with investments. The Openfolio app allows users to create a profile and become friends with other money-minded individuals, and the twist is that the network is built around sharing investment strategies. It’s not quite a social networking site, but it does allow users to get tips and advice from others, as well as gathering feedback on their own methods for smart investing. If your Millennial employees are looking to get investment advice from trusted sources who know what they’re doing, then direct them towards the Openfolio community.
Wealthfront
For those with a little more experience and a few more assets to move around, Wealthfront is an automated investment service that’s garnered huge praise – and currently moving more than $2 billion in assets. As US News explains, all Millennials need to do is enter their age, their annual income, and their cash and/or liquid assets, and Wealthfront sets them up with investment options that suit their profile. The program is also easily accessed via computer, smartphone, or tablet, which means that tech-savvy Millennials will have investment advice right in their pockets at all times.
Rebalance IRA
Another program that isn’t quite as investment-focused, Rebalance IRA instead looks to save its users money on annual fees. IntelligentHQ notes that the program suggests it can help its customers save between 45 and 72% in annual fees – a total that could really add up for heavy-spending Millennials. It can also create custom retirement plans for those who are looking further into the future. If your young employees would rather talk with someone experienced, there’s a retirement investment advisor on hand to take questions for free as well.
The Future is (Finance) Friendly
Getting Millennial employees to consider financial fitness shouldn’t be like pulling teeth. By using mobile apps and websites that make learning about investments and savings fun and educational, it should be easier to get Millennials to realize that financial wellness should start as soon as possible. And if you can get them to see it as a game or a social network, then you could be helping them build better habits when it comes to financial planning for their future – all from their smartphone.
