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Fearing an impending recession, U.S.-based millennial investors appear to prefer investing in crypto assets, global trading platform eToro said in a new report.
eToro commissioned market research firm Provoke Insights to conduct an online survey from July 18 to July 31, 2019 among 1,000 U.S. online investors. Two-thirds of respondents said that they fear a recession is looming.
The survey results showed that each generation of Americans already has a distinct preference regarding how they want to safeguard their wealth in the event of a recession:
- Generation X, born between 1965 and 1979, showed a preference for commodities, with 38% indicating that they would turn to them in the event of a recession.
- 40% of Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 1994, declared that they would prefer to invest in cryptoassets.
- 50% of Generation Z respondents –– defined as those born in 1995 or later –– would opt to invest in real estate.
"As global markets experience heightened volatility and as geopolitical tensions escalate, investors are seeking stability outside of the traditional stock market. Investors across all demographics are looking to empower themselves financially by diversifying their portfolio with new asset classes and exploring novel forms of ownership,” Guy Hirsch, Managing Director of eToro U.S., said.
Furthermore, a majority of respondents also expressed high interest in owning fractions of assets such as famous artworks, landmark buildings, private startups, or other categories of investments.
- 82% of respondents would like to own a portion of landmark real estate.
- 68% of surveyed investors said they would purchase shares of music rights.
- More than half (55%) of respondents said that they would sell a portion of their stock portfolio to fund their investment in fractional ownership of these new types of assets.
“We believe that if a recession were to occur, we'd see shrinking stock portfolios and growth in other asset classes like crypto, as well as new fractional ownership models. Historically, these investment opportunities have been limited to high net worth and institutional investors, but innovation is unlocking these opportunities for everyday investors and clearly, these results indicate that the demand is there,” Hirsch added.
