Our profession was built by and for baby boomers, and we make a lot of money serving them. What concerns me is how we’ve all but ignored Generation Xers—people aged 37 to 55 who really need our help right now. Sometimes described as the middle child between the oxygen-sucking boomers and the self-absorbed millennials, Gen Xers are both unprepared financially and skeptical about the advice available.

According to the 2017 “Transamerica Retirement Survey,” Gen X is about 18% to 20% behind the savings rate boomers enjoyed at this life stage, with greater debt loads and higher projected living expenses for retirement. They are highly entrepreneurial, but because many are freelancers or small business owners, they have fewer corporate benefits. Add to that the uncertain future of Social Security, and a crisis is looming for which there is no safety net. Yet only 20% of Gen Xers report using an advisor for financial planning. What can we do about this?

Talking To Gen Xers

I asked about 20 consumers at an average age of 40, with household incomes above $200,000, to talk about their financial lives. Baby boomers may have put a man on the moon, but Gen X saw the Space Shuttle Challenger explode. They were marked by 9/11 and other terrorist attacks. They were latchkey kids. They’ve seen economies and stock markets boom and bust, and the anthems of their youth include songs like Beck’s “Loser” and Radiohead’s “Creep” after disco gave way to grunge, punk, hip-hop and rap music.

There is a line in the pop hit “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits that sums it up: “Easy, easy money for nothin’, chicks for free.” This picture of life manifests in the low savings rates, high debt and lack of long-term planning that I’ve discovered in surveys and interviews. The consumers I spoke with know they need help, but they don’t see it coming.

One of the men I interviewed had this to say: “Boomers have their advisors, millennials have an app for everything, and I feel like no one gets my generation.” A female executive shared how she had interviewed two different advisors in the Seattle area and was “turned down” because her assets didn’t qualify for their account minimums, even though she had boatloads of stock options, a sizable 401(k) and significant real estate.

Of the 20 people I interviewed, about 60% were do-it-yourselfers using online or robo programs, which seem to work fine for investing but not planning. Of the 40% who had human advisors, only four out of eight were happy with the experience. What are they looking for?

The Advisor Interviews

I interviewed a dozen advisors from around the country who indicated they had clients in the 35-to-55 age range, and the advisors themselves were all Gen Xers or millennials. To my surprise, only five felt their firms adequately focused on Gen X. The other seven expressed personal interest in Gen X but their firms’ interest in boomers was overriding.

“Let’s face it,” said one advisor, “that’s where we make our money.”

The five advisors who had Gen X strategies were Devon Klumb of RhineVest in Cincinnati; Brandon Moss of the XY Planning Network in Dallas; Kelley Ellis of Prio Wealth in Boston; Todd Blackwell of Blackwell Boyd in Bluffton, S.C.; and Ben Pitts from Cypress Financial Planning in New Jersey.

Three best practices emerged from my interviews with these professionals.

Make It Comfortable

Advisors from the Gen X age group can relate in ways older advisors just can’t match. For example, RhineVest is owned by Truepoint, a high-end wealth management firm, but it operates as a separate channel with its own cool vibe and younger advisors who face off well with the up-and-comers they serve.

Prio Wealth is the new version of longtime Boston firm Seaward Management, which rebranded itself earlier this year, changing its more traditional focus, adding younger advisors like Ellis and incorporating gamification and financial life management tools.

Moss at XY Planning describes how advisors can build personal niches of like-minded people—being part of and serving a community where you have a natural fit.

Blackwell, a retired military officer, helps other military families with the knowledge and empathy he has garnered. Cypress was founded by ex-Goldman Sachs advisors who wanted a better business model, and Pitts has an active social media profile that is friendly, fun and engaging.

The point all the advisors made was that Gen Xers are attracted to people and places that reflect them and respect them. It makes sense.

Shift Your Planning

When I asked, “What can you do that’s most helpful to Gen X clients?” the emphatic answer was cash-flow analysis. The conventional plans skip over current cash flow and forecast savings for retirement with pie charts and line graphs that draw attention out 30 years. The consumers I interviewed showed frustration with this approach. They don’t believe the generalized forecasts and assumptions, and they care about living better today as much as being OK in the future. They want to know: How can they both live well and save?

All the Gen X advisors said cash-flow concerns are a primary reason prospects come looking for help. As Pitts put it, “we have to focus on the next 30 days—how to pay the bills. Then the next 90 days, then a year, then three years. Only then can we connect the cash-flow conversation to retirement planning.”

To Gen X, budgeting is an unrealistic, negative experience. As one woman put it, “Even the government has given up balancing its budget!” In contrast, the language of cash-flow planning is more comforting. Automating savings—through 401(k)s, health-savings accounts and other tax-advantaged vehicles, as well as other money set aside for liquid savings—makes things simple. When you know what your cash inflows and mandatory cash outflows are, the leftover is free cash flow.

Consumers said a truly personalized cash flow plan and a “financial wellness” approach to spending free cash flow were what they needed but couldn’t find from average advisors.

Tailor Your Business Model

A big conundrum for Gen X is that when they need help the most, their portfolios may be too small to generate much interest from AUM-based wealth managers. RhineVest has a bold, transparent approach to pricing—planning as low as $65 per month, which is akin to a gym membership, and investing starting at 80 basis points. XY Planning and Cypress also offer a competitive retainer pricing option for planning, while Prio and Blackwell Boyd negotiate minimums and pricing to accommodate smaller clients.

The point is each of these firms lowers the barriers to entry to reach Gen Xers, many of whom may have high wages and net worth but modest investable assets, for now.

Beyond pricing, the successful firms have sincerely listened to their clients and shaped their offering to fit into the Gen X lifestyle. Speed and convenience matter to people juggling work, family and a hectic life, so smart technology is a must. Advisors commented that financial planning software providers must expand collaboration tools, as the generation that grew up with Game Boy expects nothing less.

Why It Matters

When 12 of the 20 advisors I interviewed said their firms were solidly focused on boomers over younger generations, that was depressing. To me, fiduciary responsibility extends to doing what’s right for all consumers. But maybe that’s just my soapbox. Beyond doing the responsible thing, the business reasons for focusing on Gen X are compelling.

Boomer assets will wane. The assets of older boomers will transfer to Gen X heirs, who are in the meantime now in their peak earning years. From the interviews, I heard that once shunned, these investors are not easily forgiving. It is implausible that our industry can ignore them and later skip ahead and happily reap the benefits of the millennials’ ballooning wealth. Serving Gen X well—with refreshed experiences, more digital engagement, personalized planning and modern pricing options—seems critical before a firm will have a shot at the generation to follow.

For all the talk about robos in our industry, the Gen Xers I spoke to yearned for human advice in the areas of life that are emotional and complicated. Investing and routine retirement planning are formulaic. But there are some things people aren’t willing to delegate to algorithms: help with their careers, help with lifestyle choices and help negotiating financial setbacks. If we want to enhance the value of human advice in the digital age, Gen X has something to teach us.