Fast-growing Fintech startup Plum has today released data from its community of 1 million users that shows millennial investors have been following the thesis of investment guru Warren Buffett to “invest in what they know”.
Millennials have been making considered, logical investment choices during the COVID-19 pandemic and have adapted quickly to the crisis, investing in places that are a good fit for the new norm.
Deposits into Plum grew steeply in general in the first half of 2020, increasing by 5x between January and May as people spent less and saved more during the COVID-19 lockdown. But it was the company’s investment offering that saw the largest surge, with an 180% increase in investors using the platform this year to date (Jan-Sept 2020).
Millennials aged between 25 and 35 make up the majority of Plum users, with the average investor age being 33. As a new lockdown approaches, the patterns of the first half of the year may indicate what lies ahead in terms of investor behaviour among this impactful age group.
Plum’s data shows that The Medic, Plum’s health fund which covers international health and pharmaceutical companies, surprisingly doubled in size in January. This fund was previously an unpopular choice, with just a small number of investors. This could be an early sign of an investor response to the developing global pandemic, which was already having a huge impact in Asian countries at the time.
Overall, millennials actually invested more than ever during the darkest days of the Coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, this was not an impulsive decision. Their choice of funds shows that they made sensible choices to ensure they did not suffer from the market turbulence.
The company’s data shows that by September 2020, the Tech Giants fund has almost 60% of monthly investment amount per Plum fund, with 40% divided between the remaining nine funds. Fund allocation is back to a similar level as the one seen prior to COVID-19, with Tech Giants leading the way.
Tech Giants, where people invest in the world’s most innovative companies like Apple and Google, has been a popular choice for millennial investors, as these are digital natives who grew up with the internet and consider tech companies to be a good place to invest.
Victor Trokoudes, CEO & co-founder at Plum, comments: “Millennials have shown themselves to be savvy with their smart investment tactics during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“They invested in things they know well, such as technology, and were able to adapt quickly to events around them by investing more in our health fund. It will be really interesting to track what our investors do next, as we enter the next phase of the pandemic response.”
Thanos Bismpigiannis, Head of Product at Plum added, “We’ve experienced rapid growth over the past year as more people choose to invest through Plum.
“Spending dropped during the COVID-19 lockdown, and when people saved more automatically, they then trusted Plum to help them grow that money. Both the number of investment orders as well as the value invested with Plum has more than doubled since March. We plan to further expand our investment offering with new products and investment opportunities to help more people save and invest in ways that fit their personal financial needs and risk appetite.”
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