Young clients are not unready for advice. They need advice that meets them where they are

For many young South Africans, adulthood no longer follows a predictable sequence. Education, career progression, marriage, home ownership and parenthood do not necessarily happen in the order, or at the ages, they once did.

Instead, young people are building their lives while managing economic pressure, changing responsibilities and competing priorities.

This is the reality that inspired Liberty’s Unready Club, a platform that explores the realities of navigating adulthood without necessarily feeling fully prepared. It reflects a generation that is willing to plan or take responsibility but is making important financial decisions while still figuring out what the future may look like.

The Standard Bank Youth Barometer Report 2026 provides insight into how young people approach investments and insurance. It challenges the tendency to view those between 18 and 35 as a single market with similar needs.

The findings show that age alone does not determine financial behaviour. Life stage, income, responsibilities and financial capacity influence what young people need and how quickly they progress.

Young people are already planning

Most young Liberty clients hold one investment or insurance product, compared with an average of two products among clients over 35. Forty per cent begin with an investment product, while 27% start with insurance. A further 33% already hold a combination of both.

This suggests that young people are not disengaged from financial planning. Many are simply taking their first step while balancing current financial pressures with future ambitions.

For financial advisers, the opportunity is to build from that first decision. Instead of beginning with what is missing from the client’s portfolio, the conversation should explore what prompted the decision, what matters most now and what the client can realistically sustain.

Different life stages require different advice

In the early stages, young clients tend to prioritise savings, liquidity and flexibility. They may be earning independently for the first time and learning to manage living expenses, debt and family expectations.

As life becomes more complex, their needs expand to include children, dependants, education planning and longer-term commitments. Later, the focus shifts towards protecting income, family and future financial wellbeing through life, disability and dread disease cover.

This progression does not happen at the same pace for everyone. Middle-market clients may take on responsibility earlier but transition more slowly into longer-term products. Core-affluent clients may begin with a stronger investment focus and shift more sharply towards protection later.

Two clients of the same age may therefore have very different priorities and financial needs. Age may indicate where a client could be, but their lived experience tells the adviser where they actually are.

Financial planning is rarely linear

Young clients may enter and exit products as their circumstances change. This can be interpreted as a lack of discipline, but it may reflect the process of discovering what is affordable and sustainable.

Long-term investing competes with home ownership, further education, starting a family and supporting loved ones. Young people are not only deciding whether to prepare for the future. They are often deciding which future to fund first.

Financial Advice must be able to evolve with these changing circumstances. Regular conversations can help financial advisers adjust a plan before a client feels that walking away from it is their only option.

Engagement with financial advisers remains relatively low among young clients. However, this does not necessarily mean that they do not value financial advice. Many are researching independently to understand financial products, identify the right questions and determine who they can trust.

Transparency, education and clear communication are therefore essential between financial advisers and clients. Young clients need to understand why a recommendation has been made, what it will cost and how it supports the life and future they are trying to build.

The most useful advice conversations may begin with simple questions: What is changing in your life? Who depends on you? What are you trying to build or protect? What can you sustain without creating further instability?

Young people do not need to have everything figured out before they can benefit from financial advice. The role of the financial adviser is not to create a perfect plan for a predictable life. It is to help clients make the next considered decision and keep moving forward, even while they are still figuring things out and feel unready.