10.02.2026 The financial impact on Gen Z: Prof. Dr. Stolper in an interview with SPIEGEL

Prof. Dr. Oscar Stolper spoke with SPIEGEL about the key findings of a recent study by the Behavioral Finance Research Group (BFRG) on the financial characteristics of Generation Z.

Young adults of Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2012) say that their parents play a particularly important role when it comes to questions about investing and wealth creation. Overall, almost three-quarters of those surveyed see their parents as playing a significant role in financial matters, and for some young people, their parents are even the most important source of information—more so than bank advisors or social media.

While the parent generation overwhelmingly (89%) sees itself as the most important source of financial advice, the study reveals considerable gaps in knowledge: only around half of the parents surveyed were able to answer at least two out of three simple questions about investing correctly, while 46% answered 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 low level of financial literacy in the family can quickly lead to the passing on of conservative or inefficient patterns.
 
Read the full interview here.