Meet the CEO trying to ‘increase the net worth of an entire generation’
Finimize CEO, Carl Hazeley, talks about how longer lifespans and an upcoming generational wealth transfer are likely to make investing even more crucial for millennials.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/14/meet-the-ceo-trying-to-increase-the-net-worth-of-an-entire-generation
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Finimize CEO, Carl Hazeley, talks about how longer lifespans and an upcoming generational wealth transfer are likely to make investing even more crucial for millennials.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/14/meet-the-ceo-trying-to-increase-the-net-worth-of-an-entire-generation
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00We're all going to live much longer and have no money to fund that retirement.
00:04If someone's guaranteeing a return, they're either lying to you or breaking the law.
00:13Welcome to The Big Question, the series from Euronews where we dive deep into some of the biggest topics on the business agenda.
00:20Today I am joined by CEO of Finamise, Carl Haisley.
00:23So thank you very much for joining me today.
00:25So just to start us off, can you just tell me a little bit about what Finamise do and what are your main names?
00:31So Finamise is a financial news, insights and research platform that aims to give everyone the tools to become their own financial advisor.
00:39We do that through our world-class analysis and in so doing, we hope to increase the net worth of an entire generation.
00:48And do you think, you know, to kind of get the younger generation, so millennials and then even Gen Z, into investing,
00:53do you think we need a bit of a culture change?
00:55You know, there is often that perception that, you know, if you don't have much disposable income, investing isn't for you.
01:00Look, it was true 10, 15 years ago that you needed a certain amount of money to think about investing and that's just not the case anymore.
01:06I can't confidently say that it's as accessible as it needs to be for everyone.
01:11I think that's a moving target and it's a goal that the industry should aspire to.
01:16I think there are more misconceptions on the financial services side than there are about actual modern retail investors.
01:23I think there are two big mistakes that the industry is making overall.
01:28I think first is on the institutional side where institutions treat non-experts like idiots, frankly,
01:35by talking down to them, by assuming that a 19-year-old or a 23-year-old cannot possibly have more than a couple of pennies in savings
01:47and therefore couldn't possibly be right to consider for an investment product.
01:52The best indicator of how somebody is going to behave and what they need from a financial services provider
01:58or an investment provider is their action, their content consumption.
02:02So whether you're 19 or 95, if I know that you've been reading about mortgage rates, interest rates,
02:09how to build a nest egg, your emergency fund, that tells me more about what you're likely to do next
02:14than just your age, your marital status and so on.
02:18And the second big mistake is treating customers' users as the tool to make a margin.
02:24So what I mean by that is if you take financial services as a whole,
02:27we take medium-level complicated stuff around investing money, etc.
02:31We simplify it so that we will understand what's going on.
02:34Then we make it really complicated, put it in front of people and say, pay us.
02:38Right, and that's how you make a margin.
02:39And what's wild to me, and I think the big mistake that the industry is making is,
02:44you know, you don't go to the cinema without checking rotten tomatoes.
02:48You don't go to a restaurant or on holiday without checking TripAdvisor.
02:52Yet when it comes to money, this big, most important thing in your life,
02:55you're being expected to make decisions without access to either the way to make those decisions
03:01or the way to learn more.
03:03And I think that's where a lot of people are going on.
03:04Why should someone who maybe doesn't have that much excess cash to invest,
03:15but what potential does it have to grow versus just, you know, sticking it in the bank?
03:20It's often a tricky pitch because to warn somebody about some future state,
03:26which is so far away, it doesn't feel urgent.
03:28But the fact of the matter is, if you stick your money in a bank account
03:32that earns a couple of percent of interest, inflation will eat away at that over time.
03:36If inflation is at 2% for 30 years, €1,000 is worth €500.
03:41If inflation is at 10% for seven years, that €1,000 goes to €500.
03:47Investing broadly helps shield you from that impact.
03:51It will grow your money at least in life with inflation, hopefully more.
03:55Over the very long run, it has historically outperformed inflation by a long chalk.
04:02And what that means is when you get to the later stages in life, you have a nest egg to retire with.
04:09When we think about preparing for the future, and, you know, I guess retirement is becoming increasingly far in the future.
04:14Yes.
04:15But, you know, how much do we really need to be planning for that now with our investments?
04:18So the short answer is we absolutely need to plan for it now.
04:21It's not a case of being able to rely or not being able to rely on a government.
04:26It's just the simple fact that inflation is ever-present at whatever level it is.
04:32And, you know, the future is so far away that government plans may change, have changed, will continue to change.
04:39So it's not a reliability issue.
04:41It's a forecasting issue.
04:42And the one thing you can control is what you do today.
04:46And I guess the bigger picture here is that the responsibility for making sure you've got enough when you stop working has never been more pressing on people.
04:56And, again, looking at the big picture stats here, there's a generation of people, millennials and downwards, who are sleepwalking toward a retirement where, with rising life expectancies, approved medications, Ozempic, you name it, we're all going to live much longer and have no money to fund that retirement.
05:16Which is a terrifying state of affairs.
05:19Yeah.
05:20And that's why it's never been more important to take advantage of accessibility, education, for modern retail investors to invest, frankly.
05:28So for someone who maybe wants to think about, you know, creating a better financial future for themselves, but feels completely clueless on where to start, what would you advise?
05:37Find a source, newsletter, a website, podcast, all of the above, and spend five, ten minutes each day just building your awareness.
05:49You'll find, eventually, that you can join the dots between an event and a response.
05:56A central bank has said something, what does that mean for me?
06:00Tesco has reported a record profit, what does that mean for the price of groceries?
06:04And from there, you start to realise how much you don't know.
06:07It's a bit like learning a language.
06:08A little bit every day, you start to feel more confident, you start to feel more able to engage.
06:12Is there any scams that people should watch out for?
06:14If someone's guaranteeing a return, you're guaranteeing that something's going to go up, they're either lying to you or breaking the law.
06:20Either way, it's clear, because predictions are hard, especially about the future.
06:26And with the best will in the world, with the best research in the world, no real investor can guarantee anything.
06:33And so, that's the big red flag, I would say.
06:36Do you think there is a responsibility there for us to really think about where we invest our money?
06:40Like, should we make sure that we are doing good with our investments?
06:43Thematic investing is particularly popular among millennials, whether that is climate-focused or trend-focused.
06:51I think there's a really strong argument for it.
06:54I try not to be the arbiter of how people invest.
06:58I would rather you invest in a way that I absolutely loathe, than you don't invest at all.
07:03And that's for the reasons we've discussed around it just being necessary for everybody.
07:07But if I look at our data, so we survey our members quarterly, and a significant proportion have said,
07:16I will not invest in something if it doesn't align with my values, so 30-40%.
07:20A similar number have said they would forego a return on their investments,
07:25if the return was helping people, planet, environment, and so on.
07:30At the same time, about half of people just last quarter have said,
07:36actually, I'm paring back my ESG-focused investments,
07:41which is probably a nod to what's happening politically at the moment.
07:44Yeah, well, on that note, thank you so much for your time today,
07:47and thank you for joining me on The Big Question.
07:49Thank you so much.