A new survey from SoFi Technologies, conducted by YouGov among 4,090 U.S. adults aged 18 to 65, reveals a striking disconnect between what younger Americans want financially and what they believe they can achieve. The report, titled "Making The Most: How Americans are Maximizing Money and Life in 2026," found that while 62% of respondents aspire to retire comfortably, only 46% believe they actually will—a 16-point gap that represents a significant portion of the advisor's addressable market.
For advisors building next-generation practices, the data reinforces an uncomfortable reality: many younger investors feel they need professional guidance but aren't receiving it. As Cerulli research on affluent investors shows, planning is increasingly valued over pure portfolio management, yet the SoFi findings suggest younger clients may not be seeking that help.
Lifemaxxing and financemaxxing: a new client mindset
SoFi introduces two terms that could become part of the advisor's vocabulary: "lifemaxxing" and "financemaxxing." Lifemaxxing describes prioritizing meaningful experiences alongside long-term goals. The survey found Americans are twice as likely to consider the ability to enjoy life a marker of financial progress as they are to cite homeownership (59% versus 27%). Additionally, 72% said they are willing to slow their financial progress to spend on family, vacations, and memories.
Financemaxxing refers to the tactics Americans use to stretch their dollars. Three-quarters of respondents have used at least one money-maximizing strategy in the past year, including rotating streaming subscriptions (25%), using Buy Now, Pay Later services (27%), and cutting dating costs (23%). For advisors, these micro-strategies signal financial engagement and receptiveness to structured guidance.
Gen Z: entrepreneurial, crypto-curious, and underconfident
The survey highlights a generational fault line. Gen Z shows strong entrepreneurial confidence, with 77% believing they can start a business, compared with 58% of other generations. They are also four times more likely than baby boomers to have invested in cryptocurrency (26% versus 6%). Yet this risk appetite coexists with significant anxiety. The SoFi findings align with U.S. Bank's 2026 Wealth Survey, which found that despite starting wealth-building at age 19 on average—earlier than any prior generation—56% of Gen Z respondents said they had done everything right but weren't where they hoped to be.
Brian Walsh, CFP and Head of Advice & Planning at SoFi, pointed to broader forces: "Today, higher costs, a changing workforce and rapid advances in AI are reshaping how Americans balance goals like buying a home and retiring comfortably with immediate priorities like paying down debt, building an emergency fund and enjoying life today."
What this means for your practice
The SoFi data arrives amid a massive demographic transition. According to Cerulli Associates, approximately $124 trillion in wealth will transfer from older to younger generations by 2048, with millennials poised to receive $46 trillion. Advisors who understand what younger clients value—not just asset accumulation—will be best positioned to capture those relationships. As trustee and charitable vehicle decisions become critical to that transfer, advisors must adapt.
The survey suggests that clients entering advisory practices over the next decade are not opposed to long-term planning; they are skeptical it will work for them. They manage money in real time through tools and tactics advisors may not track, and they measure progress by broader criteria than their parents did. For advisors, the opening is clear: a client who aspires to retire comfortably but doubts they will—and who is already optimizing finances at the margins—is ready for a conversation. They just need to believe the conversation is worth having.
