Americans in their 30s and early 40s are getting richer faster than their parents. Here are the strategies millennials are using to grow their wealth

According to Federal Reserve data, millennials’ total wealth soared from $3.85 trillion in Q3 2019 to $18.25 trillion in Q3 2025 — a 374% increase. Meanwhile, Gen Xers saw their wealth climb just 74% and baby boomers saw theirs jump 51% over this same period (2).

Along the same lines, the number of millennial millionaires in Wealthfront’s user base increased 144% over the past five years (1). Put simply, quite a few Americans in this age group are shedding their unfortunate image and building prosperity.

Many of them have experienced major life events like buying a home in the last few years, buoyed by a frothy stock market, while their parents may be investing more conservatively as they reach retirement age and their grandparents begin to pass away and hand down their wealth — the so-called Great Wealth Transfer.

And these positive trends are poised to continue. Millennial net wealth is projected to grow 11.3% annually through 2045 — nearly double the growth rate expected for total national wealth (3). Notably, this forecast doesn’t include future generational wealth transfers, demonstrating that millennials are independently earning and saving more.

The key to millennial success? Good investing and saving habits. Here are some of their strategies you can use to get back ahead of your finances.

Solid strategies

Based on Wealthfront’s analysis of its own user base, wealthy millennials have been successful thanks to time-tested investment strategies such as focusing on low-cost index funds (ETFs), committing to investing on an ongoing basis to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging and holding the course during periods of market volatility.

“Our millennial clients hold more than 90% of their invested Wealthfront assets in our globally diversified portfolios of low-cost ETFs,” the Wealthfront report states as an example (1).

So, investing in ETFs is a solid way to take advantage of the long-term growth potential of the stock market, but the savviest investors do it in a way that ensures they can learn as their wealth grows.

Investing in ETFs

One of the easiest ways to start investing is to open SoFi’s easy-to-use DIY investing platform that lets you buy ETFs, stocks and more with no commission fees and no account minimums.

SoFi is designed for both beginners and seasoned investors, with real-time investing news, curated content and the data you need to make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.

Plus, for a limited time, you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.

Buying the dip

The millennial cohort is also not easily spooked by sudden dips in the market. In fact, “buy the dip” has become a popular meme for retail investors of all ages, according to The Wall Street Journal (4).

Wealthfront’s millennial clients have seen the stock market’s turbulence over the past several years as an opportunity rather than a risk.

“When Covid-19 roiled financial markets in March 2020, the average monthly net deposits for millennials remained much steadier than those of older generations,” the Wealthfront report says (1).

Building an emergency fund

Even if markets dip, it’s important to have an emergency fund. Emergency funds do exactly what the name suggests: They offer a crucial financial safety net in times of emergency or unexpected costs.

Wealthfront’s report also reveals that millennials who kept their cash in a Wealthfront Cash Account earned more interest than they would have with a traditional account — allowing them to build their emergency fund even faster.

A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great way to grow your emergency fund, helping ensure you’re prepared to weather market highs and lows.

A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base variable APY of 3.30%, and new clients can get a 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total APY of 4.05%. That’s more than 10 times the national deposit rate, according to the FDIC’s February report (5).

With no minimum balance or account fees, 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.

Time in the market beats timing the market

Regardless of your age, if you’re looking for investment success, the easiest way to improve your odds is to simply be more consistent.

While that might not seem to be the most exciting advice, holding on through the ups and downs is the key to building wealth.

But if you need more incentive to be consistent in your investing, consider these numbers: The average annualized rate of return for the S&P 500 is about 10%, or between 6% and 7% when inflation is taken into account (6). So, if you had invested $1,000 in an S&P index fund a decade ago and hung onto it, you would have enjoyed a nearly 14% annualized return, or 10% if you consider inflation (7).

This kind of growth can yield big returns, but requires a strategy to get through the bad times.

That’s why it’s a good idea to adopt specific strategies that allow you to smooth out the volatility to a certain extent. For example, dollar-cost averaging — investing a fixed dollar amount on a recurring basis — allows you to buy more units of an index fund when the market dips and less when it’s frothy.

So, instead of trying to pull back when the market looks overvalued, or waiting for a dramatic crash to invest, research suggests the best approach is to just consistently invest and ride out the volatility.

Planting the investment seed

One way to invest consistently — even if you don’t have much extra room in your budget — is to invest with Acorns. Their platform automates investing to simplify the process of setting aside extra funds.

It works like this: When you register and link your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds up the price of each of your purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

That way, you can grow your wealth without even thinking about it, no matter which generation you belong to. Plus, if you sign up today, you can get a $20 bonus investment to get you started.

Diversifying your portfolio

To be fair, it’s easier to do this kind of investing when you’re younger.

If you’re retired and don’t have much time to wait for markets to recover from a downturn, for example, you may need a more conservative approach.

It’s also more important for older investors to ensure their portfolios are properly diversified, as a dip in the market right before or early into retirement — the dreaded sequence-of-returns risk — could spell disaster for their golden years.

Instead of risking it, diversifying outside the stock market with investments in commodities like gold and high-growth assets like real estate can help investors nearing retirement achieve stable growth.

A diversified portfolio can help you rest easier when the stock market is volatile, no matter whether you’re close to retirement or still have decades ahead.

A golden opportunity

Gold has historically been a great inflation hedge, and it’s seen record highs recently — a whopping $5,602 per ounce in January (8).

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.

Download their free information guide to learn how to get up to $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases.

Real estate without the headaches

In addition to gold, there’s real estate. While the high price of investing in real estate may make it seem like a poor choice for someone close to retirement, there are ways to invest and see stable returns without becoming a landlord — or even spending a bundle.

Consider platforms like mogul. This real estate investment platform offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or late-night tenant calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10 to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.