Winning the Next Generation of Wealth

Targeting the Next Generation of Wealth

By Caitlyn Kardish, Senior Vice President

The much-discussed “Great Wealth Transfer” is underway.

Over the next decade, millennials and Gen Z are expected to inherit more than $80 trillion from their Baby Boomer parents. For an industry long accustomed to serving Boomers, this shift demands a rethinking of how to communicate with, and provide value to, a new generation of investors. For ETF issuers, it represents an enormous opportunity to engage investors early in their wealth journey and build lasting relationships as their assets grow.

The good news: younger investors aren’t waiting to get started. According to Schwab’s Modern Wealth Survey, Gen Z adults (ages 18–27) began investing around age 19—six years earlier than millennials did at 25. Both generations recognize the importance of investing early to build long-term wealth, and many embrace ETFs as a foundational part of their portfolios. In fact, a 2025 Nasdaq study found that 75% of Gen Z investors include ETFs in their 401(k) or retirement plans.

This next generation of investors is receptive and ready to engage. The question is: how can ETF issuers connect with them effectively?

Understand What They Value: The priorities of millennial and Gen Z investors differ markedly from those of their parents and grandparents. While older investors often focus on preserving wealth, younger investors are balancing short- and long-term goals. They need to pay off student loans, save for travel, or buy a first home, while still building toward retirement.

They’re also more comfortable taking on risk. Many favor products that offer frequent income opportunities or growth-oriented exposure, even if that means more volatility. For this audience, it’s important to communicate what your ETF can do for them today, whether that’s generating income or capturing upside, while also demonstrating how it fits into a long-term accumulation strategy.

Values also play a significant role. A 2025 Morgan Stanley report found that 99% of Gen Z is interested in sustainable investing, with 72% saying they’re “very interested.” They want investments that align with their beliefs, whether environmental, social, or governance-driven. Taking time to understand what they care about and clearly articulating how your product aligns with those values can create meaningful connections.

Meet Them Where They Are: One of the biggest reasons younger investors entered the market earlier is accessibility. DIY investing platforms and the wealth of educational resources on YouTube, Reddit, and even WeBull have made investing more approachable than ever.

To reach this audience, ETF issuers need to adopt direct-to-retail marketing tactics. Cultivate a consistent, authentic presence on social platforms like X (formerly Twitter). Start by listening: What products are investors discussing? What market trends are driving engagement? Then join the conversation with content that adds value.

This content doesn’t always need to push a product. Educational insights that explain market dynamics, demystify ETF structures or offer portfolio tips can be just as powerful for building trust and brand awareness.

Video is another key channel. YouTube and TikTok provide high-impact opportunities to connect with retail investors visually and conversationally. In addition to creating your own content, consider partnering with established finance creators such as Dividend Stockpile or Passive Income Investing, who regularly review ETFs and feature interviews with issuers. While some partnerships may be paid, the ROI can be significant in both brand credibility and trading activity.

Educate—and Build Trust: Education is vital for every investor segment, but it’s especially important for this new generation. Gen Z and millennials have largely invested during a prolonged bull market and have yet to experience a sustained downturn. While they may remember the volatility of 2008 or during the COVID-19 pandemic, they haven’t had to actively prioritize risk management.

That creates an opportunity for ETF issuers to serve as trusted educators. Explain not just the potential rewards but also the risks associated with investing, particularly in complex areas like derivatives or options-based strategies. Introduce concepts like buffered outcome ETFs or Defined Volatility products, which can provide a built-in risk framework. Helping investors understand how to weather market turbulence will position your firm as a reliable, long-term partner.

The next generation of investors are eager, informed, and increasingly influential. By taking time to understand their motivations, meeting them where they are, and providing meaningful education, ETF issuers can build authentic relationships that grow alongside this new wave of wealth.

With more than 900 ETFs launched so far in 2025 – a new annual record – the race to market has never been more intense. Few people have a closer view of that launchpad than Maital Legum, Head of ETF Operations at the New York Stock Exchange. From operational readiness to launch discipline, Maital helps issuers navigate the fast-moving path from filing to first trade.

In this conversation, she shares her insights on what’s driving the surge in listings, what separates winners from strugglers, and why storytelling, distribution, and speed-to-market have become just as critical as product design.

What are some of the most notable trends you’re seeing in ETF listings and go-to market strategy right now?

The ETF wrapper has solidified itself as the wrapper of choice for this generation. Total assets under management (AUM) now exceed $13.5 trillion across nearly 4,600 listed ETFs (as of 10/31/25). This represents a year-over-year increase of roughly 27%, driven by strong investor adoption and product innovation. This trend has accelerated towards the end of the year, and we’ve officially crossed 900 ETF launches year-to-date, setting a new annual record for the U.S. market.

It starts with a surge in active strategies, which now account for nearly 85% of new products. This pace of innovation shows how ETF issuers are responding to investor demand for precision, flexibility, and tax efficiency, and it’s reshaping the product landscape in real-time. We have seen strong listings in fixed income strategies, particularly municipal bonds, high yield, and ultra-short duration, driven by rate volatility and yield demand. Additionally, technology and digital asset ETFs targeting AI, blockchain, and crypto names continue to surge, while leveraged single-stock ETFs continue to cater to tactical traders.

Successful ETF managers today are winning by executing disciplined go-to-market strategies that prioritize speed and precision. Time-to-market has become a competitive advantage, with leading issuers bringing products live in as little as four months post-filing. But speed alone isn’t enough, growth now hinges on securing platform commitments before launch, embedding products in model portfolios, crafting a clear retail distribution strategy, and ensuring Day-One liquidity. These elements create immediate credibility and access, driving adoption across retail investors, wealth advisors, and institutional allocators. In short, success is no longer about waiting for organic flows, it’s about proactive positioning and execution from the start.

Given your expertise across both ETFs and digital assets, how are those worlds starting to converge? How should firms think about telling that story to investors?

We began working with crypto issuers very early on, well before the first listings of crypto ETFs and have had a front row seat to the adoption and growth of the sector. After many product-specific proposals, this fall, the SEC approved generic crypto listing standards for ETFs, which streamlined the path to listing for spot crypto and commodity-based products. The NYSE is ushering in a new era of flexibility, and innovation across traditional and digital asset portfolios. If you look at investor demand, spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have surpassed $150 billion in combined AUM since launch, proving regulated digital exposure can scale rapidly. We are seeing early adoption by retail investors and institutional investors using ETFs as a trading vehicle to gain exposure. Now, we’re seeing committed capital allocations to the innovation that is digital assets.

The convergence of digital assets and ETFs reflects a major step in crypto’s institutional maturity and growing trust in the ETF wrapper. The most effective narrative positions these products as institutional-grade diversification tools within familiar frameworks – not speculative plays – emphasizing their role alongside fixed income, commodities, and private credit. Advisors adopt fastest when the story fits existing allocation buckets, moving the conversation from “crypto hype” to portfolio construction.

From your perspective, what separates the ETF issuers that scale effectively from those that struggle to gain traction?

ETF issuers that scale effectively treat the first 12–18 months as a distribution race, not a performance contest or IPO event. Three non-negotiables separate winners from laggards: (1) building a robust marketing ecosystem to drive awareness and visibility, (2) collaborating deeply with distribution partners to get in front of advisors and platforms, and (3) articulating a precise, ownable niche that maps directly to existing portfolio construction frameworks. When these foundations are missing, debates about fees or track record rarely move the needle. Early flows follow clarity, access, and relevance, not hope for organic adoption.

We’re in an incredibly competitive environment for fund launches. What do new or smaller issuers often overlook when preparing to bring a product to market, particularly from a messaging or branding standpoint?

In today’s hyper-competitive ETF launch environment, smaller issuers often overlook the importance of investor-centric messaging. Too many lead with product details, methodology, expense ratio, tracking difference, when advisors allocate based on portfolio outcomes. The critical step is articulating where the ETF fits into a portfolio and quantifying why it’s superior on a risk-adjusted basis. Without that clear “portfolio solution” hook, even differentiated strategies could stall below $100 million. Issuers should also focus on building a community of access to timely insights, highlighting correlations and competitive differentiation. Finally, success often starts with depth, not breadth, as cultivating authentic relationships with RIAs creates a supportive allocator base and validates the investment thesis early.

The retail investor has become a more powerful force in the market over the past several years. How should ETF issuers be thinking about reaching and engaging this audience, and what are some of the most effective ways to get in front of them?

The rise of the retail investor is undeniable. A structural shift since COVID introduced a new wave of millennials and Gen Z traders who now account for roughly 18% of equity trading volume and drive 35–40% of daily ETF flows, particularly in thematic and leveraged products. For ETF issuers, this means the marketing playbook has fundamentally changed. The most effective approach starts with meeting retail investors where they are e.g., via shortform video on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels to create awareness, while communities on Reddit, Discord, X, and ETF Central build conviction. Simple, rules-based strategies make products inherently shareable. Leading issuers run dedicated retail marketing stacks, separate from institutional efforts, and treat retail as a distinct buyer persona with its own psychology and distribution channels. Partnerships with retail focused platforms, which integrate directly with brokerage accounts, provide attribution insights and deepen engagement. Ultimately, success comes from creating educational, easy-to-understand, and shareable content that connects to outcomes rather than product specs.

Looking ahead to 2026, what developments in ETF innovation or investor behavior do you think will most influence how issuers tell their stories and position their products?

Looking ahead to 2026, the most influential shifts forcing ETF issuers to rethink their storytelling will be the mainstreaming of active ETFs, which are posited as adaptive alpha engines rather than just low-cost beta, the continued explosion of thematic and crypto products, and retail-driven demand for personalization and digitization asset exposure. Investors now see ETFs as a trusted wrapper to gain various exposure and use as building blocks to their custom portfolio. ETFs are increasingly embedded inside model portfolios and digital advice solutions, shifting their role from standalone products to modular building blocks. Successful issuers will pivot their messaging from “buy this ETF” to “here’s how this fits your need,” emphasizing outcomes, portfolio alignment, and flexibility in a personalized, advice-centric world.