According to a survey by asset manager MFS, the investment objectives of baby boomers and millennials are at odds with those of their advisors.
For instance, advisors indicated that maximizing income was their top consideration when advising baby boomers, even though boomer clients' top priority was maximizing growth.
The problem was inverted with millennials. Advisors thought growing assets was the most important thing, yet younger investors were focused on other objectives; 29 percent wanted capital protection, while 31 percent wanted income generation.
The firm laid out these findings in its most recent "Investing Sentiment Insights Survey."
"The Great Recession has flipped the script, with boomers remaining growth-oriented, even as retirement approaches, and younger investors becoming income oriented,” said Doug Orton, vice president of business development for MFS. “Boomers appear desperate to rebuild their nest egg before retirement, with significant equity exposure in the face of a compressed investment time horizon."
The survey found that baby boomers, on average, were holding 40 percent of their retirement assets in equities, 14 percent in bonds and 21 percent in cash.
In addition, more than half of advisors (55 percent) believe baby boomers think, "investing in retirement is all about income and preservation, not growth." However, only 28 percent of baby boomers agreed.
Similarly, 44 percent of advisors think baby boomers believe "it is too risky to invest in the stock market once you are fully retired." Again, only 28 percent of baby boomers agreed with that statement.
Millennials reported holding 30 percent in equities, with greater allocations to bonds (17 percent) and cash (23 percent).
Advisors thought younger investors had approximately 54 percent of their retirement assets in equities, and only 6 percent of their retirement assets in cash.