Most Gen Z Turn to Mom and Dad for Financial Advice: Survey

• 64% of college students rely on family for financial guidance, according to a new survey.
• They beat out banks, friends, and celebrities as the most frequent source of financial advice.
• Another survey found that over 6 in 10 Gen Z said they were still financially dependent on their parents.

Younger people in need of financial advice are not turning to banks or successful entrepreneurs — they’re going to mom and dad instead.

That’s according to a new study published on Tuesday by Insider’s sister company Morning Brew and Generation Lab. The survey was conducted between October 11 and 16 from a representative sample of 978 college students in the US.

When asked who they turn to most often for financial advice, almost two-thirds, or 64% of college students surveyed said they turn to their parents or a family member — beating out banks, a friend, an entrepreneur, or a celebrity by a wide margin.

For 12% of those surveyed, mentors were the next go-to source of financial advice. The remaining options, such as banks, entrepreneurs, or a celebrity, each got less than 10% of respondents’ votes for being the go-to source for financial advice.

The survey also found that 45% of Gen Z expect to achieve financial success in their 30s and that over 7 in 10 of those surveyed said they would be satisfied with attaining $1 million in net worth. When it came to their financial icons, Microsoft founder Bill Gates topped the list.

The reliance on parents and family for advice might not be surprising, as another survey conducted by credit bureau Experian found that over 6 in 10 US Gen Z surveyed said they were still financially dependent on their parents. On the flipside, about 28% of the 1,005 Gen Z surveyed by Experian in March and April said they did not consider their parents good financial role models.

To be sure, family isn’t the only source of financial information for Gen Z.

Nearly half — or 48% — of US Gen Z tapped into social media to learn about investing and financial topics, according to a CFA Institute and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation survey published in May.

That made it the most frequent source among the 948 US Gen Z respondents surveyed, slightly edging out web searches and family.