Eight in 10 U.S. individual investors in a new survey expressed satisfaction with the financial services industry overall, SIFMA and KPMG reported this week. Seven in 10 investors said they trust the industry.
The online study was conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 9 among 2,001 adults with investable assets (excluding residence) of $100,000 or more, investing experience of at least one year and primary or joint responsibility for investment decisions.
Advisor-supported investment relationships remain central, the survey showed, with high satisfaction peaking at 91% for baby boomers. Ethical standards also scored well, with 83% of investors saying they are satisfied.
What Gen Z Wants
SIFMA and KPMG’s research found that generational divides are reshaping investor expectations and perceptions. The firms said this underscores a mandate for the industry to improve advice delivery and enhance the digital experience to better engage next-generation investors.
Younger investors are increasingly self-directed, demanding more transparency and digital-first experiences, survey findings indicate. Generation Z investors were the only age group in the survey whose satisfaction and trust are higher with self-directed models than with advisor-supported ones: 77% for satisfaction and 64% for trust versus 72% and 63%.
Gen Zers place more than four times greater emphasis on transparency and seven times greater emphasis on digital capabilities than the older investors.
This digital focus also drives younger investors’ loyalty. They are 2.5 times less likely than Gen Xers and four times less likely than boomers to remain with their advisor when better digital options are available, and nearly twice as likely as Gen Xers and seven times as likely as boomers to switch providers for improved technology.
The study highlights opportunities for hybrid models that combine advisor support with self-direction, which emerge as the most effective approach to meeting evolving investor needs, the report said.
“Advisors remain the foundation of trust for millions of investors, but the next generation is asking for more transparency and better digital experiences,” Ronald Kruszewski, incoming 2026 chair of the SIFMA board of directors, said in a statement. “SIFMA will use this survey as a benchmark to help the industry bridge the generational gap, improve digital offerings, and build trust across every generation.”
Advice must be available in the ways that investors want to receive it, the report stressed. It said the future of advice will depend on the industry’s ability to deliver stronger digital capabilities across all models and integrate technologies to meet the expectations of the next generations of investors.
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