Gen Z is more actively participating in the stock market than any other generation. Why? They have a fear of missing out, or “FOMO.”
In a stock market that’s seen sharp ups and downs over the past year, most Gen Zers are diving in headfirst. Nine out of 10 say they are actively trading and responding to economic factors like inflation and rising interest rates, significantly more than any other generation, a Bankrate survey found. FOMO may imply that Gen Z is blindly jumping on the investing bandwagon, like they did during the pandemic-era meme stock craze, but that may not be the case here. One expert says it just means that investing concerns are becoming mainstream and Gen Z is using their diverse financial resources to learn as they go.
In 2023, nearly 90% of Gen Zers investors said they bought, sold, or withheld additional investments in response to inflation and rising interest rates, according to the Bankrate survey, which interviewed nearly 3,700 U.S. adults. In comparison, only 68% of millennials, 38% of Gen X, and 35% of baby boomer investors responded similarly.
And Gen Z is buying more than anyone else, too. Over half of Gen Z investors said they expect to invest more in stock-related investment this year than last year, compared to 43% of millennials, 19% of Gen Xers, and 9% of boomers. FOMO isn’t restricted to Americans, either: While 41% of Gen Zers in the U.S. and Canada cited FOMO as a reason they invest, in a recent CFA Institute survey, 60% of young investors in China and 43% in the U.K. expressed similar sentiments.
It’s no surprise that the youngest adults are being active with their money. Since the pandemic, this generation has seen the rise and fall of the meme-stock craze, the popping of the crypto and NFT bubbles, and multiple bank failures. Apps like Robinhood have made trading easier than ever, which, combined with Gen Z’s overall cynicism toward the economy and institutions, has likely given them a financial outlook different from any generation before. Already, Gen Z is more financially active than any generation was at their age, with more than half of them invested in the market and a quarter in individual stocks, Barron’s reports.
But while it’s a way to pass the time, day trading is a poor way to build wealth for the average Joe. Studies consistently show that active traders, even professional ones, do poorly compared with investors who use a set-it-and-forget-it approach.
“The evidence has been shown over and over again: passive investing beats the vast majority of investors, including the pros,” James Royal, a former stock analyst, wrote in a Bankrate article. He urged young investors looking to build money in the long term to look at proven strategies, writing, “Chief among these strategies is a passive approach that takes a long-term perspective.”
“Market timing is almost always a loser. But it’s especially a loser in high-volatility years,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University, wrote for the Wall Street Journal.
In the zeitgeist
Not everyone is worried at Gen Z’s turn to the markets. Katie Perry, general manager of investor relations at investing platform Public, told Fortune that the “mainstream-ification” of conversations around finance and investing could be a powerful driver for young investors.
“Most of your friends have an investment app on their home screen. This is part of conversations in the way that it wasn’t,” Perry said. “Part of it could just be keeping up with culture, which means keeping up with this financial side of life that previously was not in the zeitgeist.”
Case in point: Financial influencers are becoming increasingly popular on TikTok and Instagram, and 25% of Gen Z investors say social media is one source they use for investment research and ideas, according to new data from Public, which surveyed over 2,000 retail investors and reviewed historical investing flows.
But social media isn’t the driving factor when they invest—about the same number of Gen Z investors also reported using research from brokers and other educational materials from financial institutions and apps. Instead, Gen Z is the most likely to use generative A.I. tools for financial research than any other generation (at 22%) and to consult their family and friends, the report found.
What this shows is a growing diversification of financial resources that Gen Z is taking advantage of to feel confident in their investing strategies—71% said they were confident going into the second half of the year, almost as confident as boomers, according to the report.
Being the most financially connected generation could be a huge advantage for Gen Z. As long as they have the patience to stick it out in the stock market, their early start could help them avoid that most common regret among investors of waiting too long to invest.
“The optimistic view of this is Gen Z has more tools and information at their disposal than any other generation going into this, and they’re using them,” Perry said.
