There used to be a belief in the marketing circles, that millenials (consumer group aged 18-34 years old) don’t care much about personal finance and are rather unclear on their investment goals. Moreover, according to the recently unveiled Millennial Disruption Index, 33% of millenials don’t think that consumer banks, as we know them, will survive in the future.

The UK full-cycle creative agency Rufus Leonard has demystified opinions and gathered new facts in the course of a 5-day intensive research project «Rufus Reinvents Money» that has revealed that the UK millenials still share the same rather conservative investment goals and attitudes as their grandparents.

The survey, a mix of open and closed questions, was conducted on November 3rd-7th amongst 1,000 respondents of 18 to 34 years old, of both genders, from across all geographic locations within the UK. The project was done as a first in a series of agency’s «Reinvent» events aimed to ‘reinvent’ the future of money and provide some valuable insight on millennials’ financial habits to banking and insurance brands and other financial institutions, given a complex, ever-changing socio-economic environment.

Here are some major highlights of the research:

• 72% of millennials still think that property and savings are the best investment, but find saving too hard and would consider investing in a business or product as a quicker route to a deposit.
• Around 50% still trust banks with their money with 59% saying they visit their bank branch at least once a month.
• 99% say they are ready to switch banks—with 12% claiming they would switch banks for as little as one free coffee every month.
• 96% insured possessions within the past year, while only less than 1% insured themselves.
• 33% say they most value sustainability in a money brand, with the majority of a younger age bracket (between 18 and 24 years old) surprisingly placing this above digital experience.
• 52% say their phone or laptop would be the one thing they would save from a fire, however almost twice as many women as men say they would save photos instead.

“Millennials face a very different challenge in making their way in their careers and lives than previous generations—they are living differently and hence choose to use their resources in a very different way by necessity. Money brands need to get close to the behaviours, motivations and concerns of millennials in order to develop new products and services and talk to them in a way that resonates with their lives,” says Iain Millar, head of innovation at Rufus Leonard.

“The key finding is that existing banks and money brands are seen merely as a safe store for their money and somewhere to move it around; it’s a transactional relationship, involving no brand loyalty and its value is judged on price alone.

There is a gap in the market for a money brand that builds a trust-based advisory relationship with millennials, helping them plan for the future, helping financial literacy as they enter the economy—a new kind of relationship that inherently builds trust, loyalty and lasting value for millennial customers.

This audience is going to make up 75% of the workforce in 2025—so if financial brands don’t wake up to this, they’re missing a trick,” says Millar.

Another interesting study—this time on American, not UK—millenials’ financial habits and attitudes by YPulse.com is available here.