18.03.2026 The financial impact on Gen Z: Prof. Dr. Stolper appears on the funky-Podcast Wie Wir Fühlen

Prof. Dr. Oscar Stolper, along with Johannes Zimmermann and Nina Sabo, discussed the key findings of a recent study by the Behavioral Finance Research Group (BFRG) on the financial attitudes of Generation Z on the funky podcast “Wie Wir Fühlen.”

Young adults of Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2012) report that their parents play a particularly important role when it comes to questions about investing and wealth accumulation. Overall, nearly three-quarters of respondents attribute a significant role to their parents in financial matters, and for some of these young people, parents are even the most important source of information—more often than bank advisors or social media.

While the parent generation also overwhelmingly (89%) views itself as the most important financial advisor, the study reveals significant gaps in knowledge: Only about half of the parents surveyed could correctly answer at least two out of three simple questions about investing, while 46% could answer only one or even none at all.

This combination of high trust and limited knowledge can be problematic: Since children often adopt their parents’ investment behavior, a lack of financial knowledge within the family quickly leads to the perpetuation of conservative or inefficient patterns.

Click here to listen to the podcast.