Amidst all the attention given to baby boomers and millennials, who vastly outnumber us, it is easy to forget about my generation, Gen X. This group is generally considered to be those of us born between 1965 and 1980: a time of uncertainty in everything from politics to economics; a time when there were only three major television networks; and a time when no one called the police if children were left in the car by themselves. These conditions have not only affected the lens through which we learned to view the world, but also our approach to managing our finances.

Now here we are in our 40s and 50s, many of us in the apex of our careers, while possibly raising our kids and/or caring for our aging parents. Did I mention we're also known to be active philanthropically? If ever there was a group of people who needed financial planning and advice tailored to their needs, it's us. Yet, like Jan Brady and middle children everywhere, we often go overlooked. This post offers some insight and advice to advisors who serve Gen X clients, from someone who still wants her MTV.

Give us technology.

Gen Xers were the first gamers, the first kids to have computers in our homes and schools, and we turned out a number of geeks who changed the world as we know it: Amazon, Google and YouTube were all started by Gen Xers. We are technologically adept, so please introduce us to the tools you have available. If your RIA has a self-service portal, we definitely want to know about it. This also serves the purpose of overcoming our innate skepticism. I want to believe you, but I'd feel a lot better if I could run the numbers myself. Transparency goes a long way toward building my loyalty.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.