One of Gen Z’s favorite economic commentators shared some details about her own investments while warning on “financial nihilism” among young people.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Kyla Scanlon touted the need for investing and noted that a massive, yet highly concentrated, transfer of generational wealth is underway. But the top 5% don’t have to be the only ones inheriting money.
“That’s why investing is important because generational wealth has to start somewhere,” she said.
Standing in the way of that is Gen Z’s nihilism, which is driving young people’s decisions to rack up credit card debt and not save for retirement, Scanlon warned.
The generation’s disillusionment will also influence what career path they might choose. And when they do invest, it’s with that same mindset that nothing really matters.
“They’re very mad,” she said. “They’re extremely anxious, and they’re extremely distrustful.”
Scanlon, who famously coined the term “vibecession” to explain the earlier disconnect between low consumer sentiment and robust spending, told Bloomberg that much of what she does is dispelling misinformation.
That includes pointing out how much influencers try to overstate their gains and countering a “pump-and-dump community” online.
For her part, she owns a wide variety of assets and said most people are better off buying and holding, but cautioned that she is not giving investment advice. Her own portfolio includes United Airlines stock because she is a frequent customer and Sweetgreen stock because she enjoys the restaurant chain’s salads.
In addition, she has utility ETFs, crypto, bonds and some gold, while noting that a lot of her money is in the S&P 500 because it offers broad exposure.
“The way I do it is I put $50 every month into the S&P—no matter what—and I’ll allocate more if I can,” she said.
That regular monthly flow is especially notable given the rollercoaster ride investors have been on this year. The stock market has staged a stunning recovery after crashing earlier this year on President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Just three months ago, the S&P 500 flirted with a bear market, but has since shot back up, setting new all-time highs and is up nearly 7% in the year to date. Still, stocks in Europe and China are easily outperforming U.S. markets.
Despite all the market-rattling headlines, Scanlon said learning about investing is still important.
“I think the day-to-day news flow can make it seem like it’s not worth it,” she explained. “Like it’s just pure nihilism. It’s scary, like it activates our fight or flight all the time. But it is worth it, especially if you think on a long-term horizon, which I challenge everybody to do. It’s totally worth it.”
