After earning a bachelor's degree in finance in 2017, Jeff Mattonelli joined a major investment firm and went to work for two advisors, mostly on administrative activities. After two years, he moved to a client-facing job with Van Leeuwen & Co., which was looking for a young advisor to work with clients and prospects in his age group.
"Things sometimes work out really well in that way," Mattonelli, now 28 and a self-described tail-end millennial, told ThinkAdvisor recently.
Mattonelli had been looking for an opportunity to work with clients at the same time the firm's founder and managing director, Ken Van Leeuwen, was looking to add an experienced junior advisor — someone he could mentor and who would attract a younger clientele, the young advisor said.
"It's worked out really well at this point," said Mattonelli, the firm's only millennial advisor, noting he works with the founder's established clients of all ages while also generating business from clients and prospects in their 20s and 30s.
An Opportunity
"I didn't specifically hire Jeff because he is a millennial, but as a younger advisor, Jeff fit into our firm's longer-term vision. Jeff would represent an opportunity to connect with our current clients' and members' children, many of which are independently wealthy and successful on their own," Van Leeuwen, 66, told ThinkAdvisor via email.
"It was also an opportunity to attract a younger client base outside of our clients' children, by having an advisor who younger people could relate to and feel comfortable working with. Jeff has also had the opportunity to partner with me on my current client relationships and build relationships with existing clients.
"Aside from building relationships with these clients, this has been a great way for him to gain experience working with clients of all generations and understand how the financial planning process has assisted our older clients in reaching their goals," the firm's managing director said.
The firm also tapped Mattonelli as part of its succession planning, an outside spokesman confirmed.
Mattonelli's friends, past colleagues and college network "have become clients and work with us in a variety of different ways," Mattonelli said, noting he receives significant business through referrals. With a Great Wealth Transfer coming, "there's a large opportunity out there at some point," he said, noting he's starting to build relationships and work with older clients' children before they inherit.
A recent intelliflo survey suggests millennials and Gen Z members feel they need financial help although most haven't sought it. More than 80% of people in those generations said there were financial topics for which they needed advice but more than 70% hadn't looked for it, according to the survey.
Younger clients benefit from founder Van Leeuwen's wisdom and experience while also working with "someone that maybe is in a similar situation to them personally," Mattonelli said.
"I think it's a nice balance between having someone who has a true wealth of experience in financial planning and investment management and then another person on the team that can work with clients that are closer to their age," he added.
Experience and Youth
That's something they highlight when prospecting for Gen Z and millennial clients.
Working with clients in their 20s and 30s versus those in their 50s and 60s, "I would say first and foremost there is a bit of an educational component that goes into it," including introducing them to opportunities and challenges they may face that they haven't thought about, Mattonelli said.
This may involve talking to clients about building a budget, managing cash flow and getting financially organized, and helping them harness the opportunity they have at their young ages to build wealth through every financial decision and goal.
Mattonelli said he and his young clients also do a lot of goal-planning, which can involve helping them understand ways to lower their income taxes through retirement planning, the tax implications involved in different investment options, the risks with different asset classes and how to maximize their employer benefits.
Younger people might not think much about estate planning, but there are important conversations to have, especially for young parents who need wills to cover guardianship and power of attorney for finances and health care should they become incapacitated.
