Would one expect any different from the instant gratification generation? It seems like safer, long term investments that require lots of patience are the opposite of what we've been trained for by the internet.
Lots of generalizations there, but if it's true that millennials have more difficulty embracing delayed gratification, which I think is likely, then a riskier more speculative investment strategy seems to naturally follow from that.
It might also be additionally influenced by record poor returns from safer types of investments.
To be clear, I'm allowed to pick on millennials because I am one, and I've been burned bad this last week on my speculative "investments". So it applies to me as well.
The common sentiments are “I’m only investing what I can afford to lose” and “but what if this is the next GameStop/Bitcoin?” They’re entering with a mindset that betting it all is fine because they’ve mentally written off the money.
I’ve been using this as an opportunity to introduce friends and family to more passive, long-term investment strategies but the skepticism is strong.