“They’ve been raised being given a lot of independence, which made them more of a do-it-yourself generation,” he said. “That’s part of the reason they’re skeptical about experts and the reason they usually go to relying on themselves for decision-making.”

Generation X also started saving for retirement around the time of the dot-com crash in 2000, and endured the financial crisis and recession, so they have experienced somewhat flat equity returns throughout their lives.

The baby boomers, between the ages of 54 and 72, came of age amid the rise of television media, a series of high-profile assassinations and the Vietnam War. They were of high school, college and grad student ages when a new era of activism started, giving them more of a voice and a direct role in the political events of their time.

“For baby boomers, if they invested and stayed in, their attitude is that the market delivered for them,” said Van Wyk. “Over time, the market has created a lot of wealth, and baby boomers have the ability to look back and feel good about the returns they’ve received in the marketplace.”

He gave advisors some pointers for working with each generation based on research American Funds has conducted. Most millennials, for example, don’t identify themselves as such—so advisors should be careful about using the generational label. But millennials also consider themselves financially savvy and see themselves as conservative investors.

They believe learning more about finances and investing is extremely important, said Van Wyk, yet also tend to trust expert advice, though they are also likely to vet that advice online and within their social networks. Fifty-six percent of millennials surveyed by American Funds also claim to work with a financial advisor.

“These are savvy adults with high expectations,” he said. “The way to make it clear what the relevance of your financial advice is, is to tie it to a financial life event, because many of them think of financial advice as being relevant only to retirement.”

Generation Xers much more willingly embrace their label, and have a strong work ethic. Because all Gen Xers came of age before the advent of online social networks, they tend to have much tighter circles of friends. Family is core to Gen Xer identity. When American Funds asked each generation whether they thought that their generation was unique, millennials were the most likely to say yes while Gen Xers were the most likely to say no.

Generation X also has trust issues, said Van Wyk, as American Funds’ research shows that they trust their own judgment twice as much as they trust advice rendered by a financial advisor.

“They are laser-focused on retirement, but the challenge is that they’re trying to go it alone,” he said. “They’re the least likely to work with a financial advisor and the least likely to say that they are conservative investors.”