Helping young adults to start investing long term

Abstract

Our relationship with money is a complicated one. Whatever your stance is, it is clear we all need money, whether we like it or not. It allows us to buy our basic necessities to survive. Food, heating, a roof over our heads. Next, it also allows us to thrive, by enabling us to buy things and experiences to help us develop as individuals. So, if we need money, why not try to get more than the minimum, so we can actually thrive? Take good care of ourselves and our loved ones? This thesis, set out to help achieve that. To help and enable more people to set themselves up for a life of less worries and more financial security and thus freedom.
Young adults reach a phase in life where they start earning a proper income, often quite a hike compared to living off their parents or as a student. The question that arrives en masse then, is what to do with that extra income. It is easy to also start spending more, but that’s not always the wisest decision. Many turn to their savings accounts, but with interest rates close to 0 and inflation devaluing your money’s
worth, parking it all at the bank is not the smartest move either.
After building up a safety net of cash, investing should be brought into the equation, to help young adults build wealth and take care of themselves, today and in the future. People seem to realize the necessity of investing more and more, as seen by the latest increase in the amount of retail investors, both here in The Netherlands (17% increase in 2020 as reported by Centraal Beheer, 2021) as internationally: 15% of the current investors started in 2020 said CNBC (Fitzgerald, 2021)
The problem here is that many retail investors invest in a risky way. 44% of new investors said they were trading short-term in 2020. 2021 then has seen the rise of many ‘meme-stocks’ such as Gamestop (GME), AMC, BB and many others, where retail investors just “yolo” into buying them, regardless of any fundamentals. Incentivized by the massive gains they see others post, as well as peer pressure, newbie investors massively pile into bets (it is called Wall Street Bets for a reason), treating the stock market like a casino.
On the other side, we see individuals who are scared away from investing even more, because the situation described above confirms their biased opinion that investing is very risky and dangerous. It is clear that both groups need to be taught how to invest the right way: long term, diversified and slowly. Investing a little bit each month (Dollar Cost Averaging). This method may be the most boring, but it also the most successful.
Furthermore, investing and finances in general have a lot to do with psychology. How can you resist the Fear Of Missing Out, the ups and downs of the stock market and stick to your plan? Research made clear that a mindset should be taught to young investors.
Many of the users surveyed stated they were ready to start investing, but didn’t because of a lack of knowledge (34%), not knowing how to start (21%), thinking it was too risky/scary (17%) or thinking it was too complex (15%). The existing solutions, such as YouTube videos, Podcasts and books didn’t take these issues away, as became clear in the user interviews and the context research.
After the research phase was done, a precise User Journey was created, pinpointing the issues people phase when trying to get started with investing. The following conclusion was drawn: users want to get more knowledge on the subject of investing, from a source they trust and offered to them in a gradual, guided manner, with their starting knowledge in mind. People often feel overwhelmed and lost.
After the phase ‘from research to design’, the report follows with the design solution: MoneyMinds. An online platform on financial education that is mindset-focused, gives fundamental knowledge and gives people the confidence to be independent. Through video courses, exercises, personal coaching and a helpful community, MoneyMinds aims to empower young adults to take control of their financial lives, to learn about and start investing the right way, with the right mindset.
The report finishes with a strategic part, that describes how MoneyMinds can be realized: the value proposition, the business model and a full brand manual, allowing for a consistent online presence and matching the audience.
All things considered, this Master thesis offers interesting insight into a relevant problem of today, with a clear path forward. I hope you enjoy reading it.