Gen Z Investments Soar as Housing Costs Move Out of Reach

The number of people between 25 and 39 making yearly transfers to investment accounts more than tripled between 2013 and 2023 to 14.4%, surpassing those for people 40 and above, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (Feb. 15), citing JPMorgan Chase Institute data.

The report added that the percentage of 26-year-olds who transferred funds to investment accounts since turning 22 jumped from 8% in 2015 to 40% as of May 2025. The numbers don’t factor in people investing in 401(k)s.

“We’ve seen really strong, surprisingly strong growth in retail investing in recent years among people who may otherwise be first-time homebuyers,” George Eckerd, the research director for wealth and markets at the institute, told WSJ.

The age range includes younger millennials, and there is overlap between investors and homeowners, but Eckerd said he was struck by the increase in young and lower-income investors at the same time that homebuying has declined. This shift, he added, has tilted the balance of wealth accumulation toward financial markets for younger people.

The stock market’s recent record-breaking performance, he added, plus easier access to trading technology are also likely fueling the upswing among young investors.

The report cited the example of Laura Wight, 33, who put $10,000 she’d set aside for a home into index funds as the cost of housing in Chicago kept rising.

“What you get for your money right now and how much of it is just going to interest feels hard,” said Wight, whose returns have ballooned nearly 66% in the last six years.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote recently about the way consumer spending among Gen Z is helping to underwrite “earnings growth across financial services and retail, while pulling daily financial life deeper into mobile channels.”

This generation is “digital by default,” as PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote last summer, compressing its shopping, payments, saving and entertainment into a single, app-driven routine. Gen Z averages 425 digital activity days each month, shops for groceries on Amazon at three times the rate of older generations, saves 36% of income versus 27% for the average consumer, and engages in side hustles at 55%.

“These behaviors translate directly into transaction volume, account acquisition and product engagement, outcomes now visible in quarterly earnings calls,” PYMNTS wrote. “PYMNTS Intelligence data indicated that Gen Z spends 29 digital activity days per month on digital banking, followed by millennials at a respective 27 days.”