The millennial generation (born in the early 1980s to late 1990s) are starting to enter the workforce and now have the means to save money, create wealth and take up credit.

Research by Visa shows that eight out of 10 millennials save a third of their monthly income. Indonesian millennials have the highest propensity (98%) to save while nine out of 10 millennials in Singapore own a saving account.

The same study also shows that millennials in Singapore have a study loan (29%), a personal loan (18%) and a home mortgage (18%). Millennials in Indonesia have the highest percentage (27%) among all the countries to have a personal loan and 17% of them have  a car loan.

In a separate study conducted by Asian Institute of Finance (AIF), more than half (52% and 51%) millennials in Malaysia own unit trusts and insurance/takaful products respectively. The survey also reveals that only a handful (9%) of the millennials invest in stock market.

What is clear is that millennials are gaining financial clout and are becoming increasingly attractive to financial institutions.

Figure 1: 9 in ten millennials have a savings account

Figure 2: Millennials actually like saving money

 Information: The new currency for millennials
However your run-of-the-mill mailers and newspaper ads might not appeal to millenials looking for financial advice.
A study conducted by Linkedin and Ipsos found that millennials tend to conduct their own research before engaging in decision-making. As millennials are the tech-savvy and digitally-minded generation, they conduct extensive online research before engaging in any decision making in financial matters.

“As digital natives, millennials are likely to do their research online, so if a brand wants to be in the consideration set, it will need to have a very credible digital and social media presence to remain in the game,” said Olivier Legrand, Head of Marketing Solutions, Asia Pacific & Japan at LinkedIn.

For example, more than half (about 54%) millennials in Singapore, research information to help them in decision-making process. However, they will consult financial advisors before making a decision.

In Malaysia, 62% of millennials surveyed by AIF find that engaging a financial advisor may be an expensive affair.

Figure 3: Family members are the best financial advisors

This means that widely available online content is essential for financial institutions looking to reach out to millennials.

Single-origin content? Meh.

 Single-origin is only allowed in hipster cafes. When looking for financial advice, millennials piece together information from a range of sources, including customer reviews.


Millennials do not only rely on information that is just from a single source. They usually piece together a range of resources, including customer reviews (if they are buying a product, for instance, taking up a personal loan or business loan).

A survey conducted by Google and Millward Brown Digital found that millennial decision makers are likely to do at least 12 searches before deciding on a purchase.

Financial institutions would thus need to engage with millennials through multiple platforms before gaining their trust.

Content is long-term
Content needs to be a long-term play with financial institutions building trust among millennials over a period of time. There will be pay-off – loyalty.

“The payoff of winning the millennials over is loyalty, as our research indicates they tend to be loyal once they become customers,” said Legrand.

A content portal that offers unbiased financial advice and active participation in online sites and social channels that millennials visit will keep your brand top-of-mind.

Insurance company MassMutual has seen success with Society of Grownups, a startup that offers financial advice/engagements to millennials through a creative content portal, events and workshops. The startup has now grown into a USD$100 million growth strategy for its insurance brand with future plans to open more establishments in the next three years.

Australian bank ANZ’s content portal, BlueNotes, provides current news and insights on financial matters. The portal has successfully attracted over 70,000 followers and more than 200,000 followers on ANZ’s Twitter and LinkedIn respectively. It is also a credible site that sees traditional news outlets picking up its content.

The results speak for themselves but we can see that a strategic and orchestrated plan to content marketing works best than a blog here and there.

Speak to us for other ideas and tips on developing engaging financial services content for your market.