I See You. I Hear You. I’m Here to Help You.

In Victorian times, children were to be seen and not heard. Kids were taught to speak only when spoken to, and to behave while staying quiet.

To some extent, the financial services industry is applying these Victorian-era parenting principles to the next generation of clients. Millennials, or people born between the years of 1980 and 2000, are essentially being told to sit quietly and wait until they have enough money to make it worth the industry’s time and effort to address their needs.

This mindset didn’t work then, and it certainly won’t work now.

Millennials are known as the mobile generation – and for good reason. They spend on average 14.5 hours each week either talking, texting, or accessing social media, making them probably the most ill-suited generation in the history of mankind to follow a “seen not heard” edict. They will be heard. And if they are not heard, they will find a solution on their own. They will not be herded along a path that does not suit them.

Here are a dozen reasons to tell Millennials, “I see you. I hear you. And, I’m here to help you.”

1. The elephant in the room. This is the largest generation in U.S. history, with an estimated 80 million people. The oldest in the group are now 33 years old.

2. An underserved market. Only 47% of High Net Worth Millennials use an advisor, as opposed to 68% of Generation X and 69% of Baby Boomers.

3. Undervalued as a market segment. According to the recent Principal Financial Well-Being Index, only 18% of financial advisors surveyed target Millennial clients, while 64% still target boomers, 64% go after affluent/high net worth individuals, and 62% target business owners.

4. Educated, but need help. Today’s knowledge-based economy has led over half of Millennials to gain at least some college education (54%), compared with 49% of Gen Xers, 36% of Boomers, and 24% of the Silent Generation when they were ages 18 to 28. According to a recent study, however, as few as 5% of Millennials are financially literate.

5. Significant spending power. By 2017, their direct annual spending power will hit $200 billion.

6. More money to come. Experts have estimated the wealth transfer from boomer parents to Millennials to reach $30 trillion.

7. Financially focused. Of those Millennials with 401(k) plans, 75% carefully track expenses, 67% stick to a budget, and 40% have increased their retirement savings contributions over the past 12 months

8. Keep their eyes on the prize. 88% describe themselves as good at living within their means, and 74% are more comfortable saving and investing extra money than spending it.

9. Won’t rely on Social Security. 60% don’t think Social Security will be available when they retire.

10. Open to new ways of investing. According to a BNY Mellon study, 40% of Millennials expect that their retirement income will come from income outside their formal retirement savings.

11. Need coaching before they are comfortable investing in the market. A study conducted by UBS Wealth Management Americas shows only 12% of Millennials saying they would invest money in the market, with 28% saying long-term investing is a pathway to success.

12. They’re already adding zeros to their bank accounts. Nearly one-fourth (23%) of the millionaires in this country are of the Millennial generation, and 12% earn over $100,000 a year.