As the CEO and Founder of Gilded, formerly Digital Swiss Gold (DSG), Ashraf Rizvi is responsible for the day to day running of the firm. Ashraf sets the vision and strategy for Gilded and brings over 20 years of executive experience as Founder, Managing Partner and Global Business Head. Ashraf started DSG – now Gilded, because he wanted to provide investors freedom from the fiat based financial system. His goal is to provide investors everywhere, access to gold with the benefits of ease of use, safety, security and savings. With Gilded, gold is more than just a commodity to hold on to: it’s a symbol of economic independence.
Millennials are digital natives. For many millennials, a digital-first approach from businesses in all industries is a standard expectation. It is a basic requirement and not an additional afterthought. Accessibility of services within minutes at their fingertips is deemed essential by millennials across industries. The same trend is also true when it comes to investment and wealth management.
Towards wealth-tech
As a generation filled with tech-savvy investors, millennials want to use technology to create and manage wealth. They tend to view anything other than a straightforward self-directed investment process as friction. Compared to older generations, millennials prefer to have more autonomy over their financial decisions and want technology to empower them with this control. These preferences have been recognised and are being fulfilled by digital experiences offered by new-age wealth-tech platforms.
Along with offering frictionless investment options, wealth-tech platforms often offer information about the assets they provide, making it easier for millennials to gain financial knowledge. The easy access to educational resources enables them to make informed investment decisions and, in turn, allows the platforms to gain trust.
Digital wealth management has lowered the barrier of entry for millennials in a way the traditional model has not been able to so far. An asset as old and reliable as gold has also been simplified by wealth-tech firms. Millennials can invest in gold conveniently and digitally without having to worry about storage, security, quality or insurance. Digital gold can be bought in fractions as small as a gram, allowing millennial investors falling under diverse income groups to easily invest in this safe-haven asset.
Digital technologies have made investments more affordable for different budgets and lifestyles, with millennials being able to tailor their portfolios for their financial goals. These benefits all appeal to the lifestyle of millennials and has made them increasingly opt for wealth-tech experiences.
Influencing other generations
Millennials have risen as an influential power. The older and younger generations are witnessing how millennials are taking advantage of digital investments to reach their financial goals and are following suit. Older generations have been seen adopting new digital investing methods targeted at millennials after witnessing the digital natives do so. Hence, the expectations from the wealth management industry are being hugely influenced by millennials.
Trust and relationship
Millennials value the relationships they build with the companies they use. So, it is important to gain their trust. This can be done by offering transparency and support.
As mentioned before, easy access to financial knowledge empowering millennials with informed investing decisions is one way to gain trust. The right methods of digital communication should be leveraged in order to deliver personalised information around investments opportunities. Millennials also resort to social media to gather investment advice, giving those platforms with an active presence an edge over others.
A transparent pricing structure can also be a significant contributor. Many wealth-tech platforms have already incorporated this. For instance, the buying and selling price of digital gold along with any other charges is easily available when investing in digital gold.
The driving force
Millennials are the main force defining the next era of wealth management by driving it into digital experiences. They are encouraging the emergence of wealth-tech by demanding more convenient and informed platforms, and by influencing the generations around them. Millennials have seriously started considering wealth management and wealth creation to secure their financial futures, which will transform the space tremendously.