The AI question
Artificial intelligence is adding a new layer of complexity to the guidance gap. Thirty-one percent of all investors surveyed said they trust AI for financial advice, and among that group, 53% said AI has influenced a financial decision they otherwise would not have made.
For Gen Z specifically, 48% said AI has already shaped one of their financial choices. Gen Z investors are eight times more likely than Baby Boomers to feel comfortable using AI for long-term financial planning (41% versus just 5%).
As AI-powered tools become more embedded in daily life, financial advisors face an expanding pool of self-directed younger clients who may never enter a traditional advisory relationship.
Sports betting enters the financial picture
Perhaps the most worrying finding in the survey is the intersection of sports betting and personal finance with more than half of Gen Z investors saying they redirected money in the past year that had originally been earmarked for investing toward sports betting instead.
More than a quarter of Gen Z respondents said they treat sports betting as a deliberate component of their long-term financial strategy and Sarah Levy, chief executive of Betterment, says the findings are concerning.