Aside from nervousness around investing caused by living through two major financial crises -– the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s and the global financial crisis in 2008, roundtable participants said that millennials might typecast advisory firms as brick-and-mortar services populated by old men wearing grey suits, or by the miscreants from  films like “The Big Short” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Roundtable participants said that young advisors want a different work environment than the financial industry typically offers: relaxed dress codes, flexible schedules, open offices and up-to-date technology.

“Firms need to find a way to maintain their air of professionalism to reassure clients that they’re serious businesses, but we need to think some of that professional aspect,” McManus says. “That professionalism might not be appealing to every client. Relationships are still the key, as long as we can build relationships it’s not going to matter if someone’s wearing a grey suit or a blue suit or no suit, or if they’re behind a mahogany desk.”

Roundtable participants argued that firms should place more effort on adjusting to the ways that millennials work. After growing up with wireless internet, email and remote accessibility, millennials demand flexibility and adaptability in their work-life.

Millennials aren’t likely to stay in the office late, due to their reliance on technology, they’re more likely to feel that their physical presence within an office is unnecessary.

One roundtable participant said that “the whole work-life balance concept has evolved… when I walk around the office at six o’clock, it’s director level and above there, and not the junior kids, and it used to be the opposite… it’s just a different mentality.”

Millennials need help connecting to the wealth management industry’s clientele, which is mostly older. McManus recommends that senior advisors commit to coaching their juniors on how to find key points of connection with older clients, like sharing family stories or life experiences, in order to build better relationships.

“Firms need to have a structure around mentoring and training with technology and resources,” McManus says. “Millennials want hands-on experience, this isn’t an industry that you can learn in a classroom.”

Millennial advisors also want to help their peers achieve a higher level of financial success. McManus says that firms should consider allowing millennials to pursue clients their own age, and may be able to source ideas from junior advisors on how to connect with the next generation of investors.

At the same time, McManus says that young advisors may need help connecting with older clients.