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Identifying a Need:
According to de Bassa Scheresberg (2013), the youth and young adults (ages 25-34 in
this study) of the United States are grossly underprepared in their financial literacy. When asked
three simple questions related to interest accrual, interest versus inflation, and risk
diversification, only 34% of respondents could correctly answer all three. Roughly half
answered do not know to at least one question, and over 24% answered do not know to more
than one question. While demographics including gender, race, socioeconomic, and education
factor into financial literacy, even white male college graduates show a lack of personal finance
knowledge with only 49% identifying the three correct answers. Age and experience also play a
vital role in financial literacy as a similar study done by Purvis (2015) revealed when they asked
a similar cross section of young adults, this time with an age range of 23-28 and only 27% were
able to identify the three correct answers.
The need for financial education among young adults becomes apparent when taking a
deeper look at the value that time plays in investing, financial security, and retirement planning.
Because of the exponential growth over time in investing, the extra years between starting to
save for retirement and actual retirement age can be the difference of millions of dollars or early
versus late retirement age. For these reasons alone, training young adults to become financially
literate is of the utmost importance. The reasoning behind this current need may be as varied as
it is pervasive. Youth and/or access to money cannot be pinned down as the only culprits. An
OECD study (2014) revealed that internationally, the United States falls well below other nations
in terms of financial literacy relative to annual GDP per capita. As a nation, we make more
money but fall in the middle of the road in terms of financial literacy among the young. Whether
this is due to cultural aspects, financial dependence on parents, a failure of the educational

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system, or simply a lack of experiential knowledge, the fact remains that a gap exists and
solutions must be offered to fill said gap.
The Case for Education as a Solution:
In the case of personal finance, giving young adults real world experience is nearly
impossible without long term simulations. Because assets, time, risk, and life events play a
major role in ones finances, real world experience cannot be achieved through a singular or
short term activity. It is for this reason that the teaching of concepts that can be utilized and
molded to fit a variety of situations through critical thought will be the best course of action to
creating financially responsible adults. This educational event aims to prepare attendees with the
proper tools, skills, and critical thinking abilities to successfully navigate the different scenarios
they will experience in their lives in relation to their finances.
Proposed Solution for Need:
In a perfect world, each recipient of personal finance training would have their
performance managed on a step-by-step basis via subject matter experts. There would also be a
vast outreach to all young adults within communities nationwide. While the former point is not
financially or logistically feasible, the latter aspect may be possible at some point in the future if
the success of the smaller scale program proves viable. The firm in this case is a nation-wide
company with a presence in all 50 states. The financial advisory business line is broken up into
12 separate regions across the country and those regions are broken down further into markets.
The market that I work for (the Minneapolis market- a grouping of 5 branches across the TwinCities area) will introduce this training as a test-market. If the program proves to be successful,
there may be opportunity to further expand the program across the United States to all markets

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and regions. If there is viability (fiscally and/or socially), it may be appropriate to open this
program up to other lines of business including, but not limited to, retail banking client bases,
mortgage clients, and lending clients.
Due to time and resource constraints, however, the best course of action initially is to
educate willing and active learners from a pre-existing client base in basic personal finance
topics and guide them towards self-directed learning for further knowledge. While the initial
training may take place in a classroom or training room setting, future learning can be
demonstrated and promoted for personal use in homes and outside learning settings such as
schools, libraries, and other study areas. This educational event and training will be a positive
solution to fill the current chasm and will hopefully result in a shift/increase in attention among
young adults towards their personal finances.
Solicitation to an outside audience, namely young adults, from a finance firm may require
some marketing techniques. Requirement of course attendance is not an option like it might be
for employee training. It is thus my proposal that the initial solicitation should be made by
offering the details to the parents of young adults in a pre-existing client base. The client base is
predominantly middle to upper-middle class. The ethnic and cultural differences are varied but
follow the cultural diversity along middle to upper-middle class lines (the majority of clients in
this socio-economic grouping in Minnesota are white families). The possibility of offering this
program nation-wide and to other lines of business would create a more diverse learner
demographic with the inclusion of lower income families and more culturally diverse geographic
locations. If parents are supportive of such an educational event, as the primary influence on
their children, they may be best suited to elicit the desired response, attitude, and attendance
from the targeted age group. If resources allow, attendees may be encouraged to bring a friend to

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bolster the involvement and attendance as friends are often cited as a major center of influence
for young adults and teens.
Support for Training Need:
Conversations with parents of young adults, financial advisors of those parents, and the
young adults themselves have revealed support and interest in an educational program for
finance basics. Father and son, Chris and Reilly Lee, stated that they would be interested in
attending such an event with Reilly, 24, expressing that, it would be nice to make sure Im on
the right track. I think Im pretty good as far as my knowledge and where Im at but there might
be something new to learn or I can see if Im doing the right things. Chris added, I know Ive
taught him quite a bit but you dont really know what youve left out until its too late. It would
be good to have something in addition to what Ive taught him. Their financial advisor,
Benjamin Birk, also agreed that preparing young adults is a good way to ensure financial
stability and lessen any hardships caused by poor financial management and the lack of assets
when starting out on ones own. All three gentlemen agreed that educating young adults on basic
financial concepts would make their jobs and lives easier. Chris and Ben felt that educating
Reilly would mean less worry and possible clean-up down the line. Reilly felt that it would
help set him on a path for future success. Other young adults and parents echoed these
sentiments, though were not spoken to as in depth as the aforementioned three.
The need and support has been solicited from firm management through explanation of
strengthened relationship of current clients by supporting the financial wellbeing of their children
and by creating financially responsible adults with (hopeful) loyalty towards the firm that set
them on a path towards financial independence and responsibility. Both of these results may lead

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to increased revenue which makes this event financially viable and worthwhile for the firm. The
event may also garner support from financial advisors who may build relationships with children
of clients who may become clients in their own right through relationship building and sound
financial planning and/or may also become and remain clients after inheriting their parents
accounts one day. Complex manager Peter Danilaitis, who has 15 years of industry experience,
agreed that a program for young adults could be a good program to benefit future generations,
current clients, and the community at large. His concern was the cost to benefit ratio and before
full support and approval, Danilaitis stated that he would need to see a breakdown of the cost and
where the funding for such a program would come from.
In a research paper on the need for financial education and its effects on advisor-client
relationships, Jariwala & Sharma (2013) found that financial education leads to strengthened
relationships and increased ease of transaction between client and advisor. For these reasons
alone, the financial education of a future client base can gain the support of financial advisors.
The support of both firm management and financial advisors will create an atmosphere of
support and help change the culture of increased awareness toward young adults and their
financial literacy.

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References
de Bassa Scheresberg, Carlo (2013). Financial literacy and financial behavior among young
adults: Evidence and implications. Numeracy: Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 5. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.6.2.5 Available at:
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol6/iss2/art5
Jariwala, H. V., & Sharma, M. S. (2013). Assessment of behavioural outcomes of financial
education workshops on financial behaviour of the participants: An experimental
study. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 18(3), 241-256.
OECD (2014), PISA 2012 results: Students and money. Financial Literacy Skills for the 21st
Century (Volume VI), PISA, OECD Publishing:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264208094-en
Purvis, D. (2015). Market your firm through consumer education. Journal of Financial
Planning, 28(7), 26-27.