Meanwhile, new research shows that Gen X are facing uncertain retirement in critical years before stopping work
A new survey from digital investment platform Betterment reveals a deepening divide between younger retail investors and the professional advice industry, with Gen Z increasingly relying on social media, artificial intelligence, and even sports betting as substitutes for traditional financial guidance.
The 2026 Retail Investor Survey, which polled 1,000 US retail investors across four generations, found that 60% of Gen Z investors now cite social media as their primary source for financial news up sharply from 45% in 2024.
By contrast, just 21% of Gen Z investors point to a financial advisor as their go-to source, a finding that signals growing challenges for the advisory profession in reaching and retaining younger clients.
The AI question
Artificial intelligence is adding a new layer of complexity to the guidance gap. Thirty-one percent of all investors surveyed said they trust AI for financial advice, and among that group, 53% said AI has influenced a financial decision they otherwise would not have made.
For Gen Z specifically, 48% said AI has already shaped one of their financial choices. Gen Z investors are eight times more likely than Baby Boomers to feel comfortable using AI for long-term financial planning (41% versus just 5%).
As AI-powered tools become more embedded in daily life, financial advisors face an expanding pool of self-directed younger clients who may never enter a traditional advisory relationship.
Sports betting enters the financial picture
Perhaps the most worrying finding in the survey is the intersection of sports betting and personal finance with more than half of Gen Z investors saying they redirected money in the past year that had originally been earmarked for investing toward sports betting instead.
More than a quarter of Gen Z respondents said they treat sports betting as a deliberate component of their long-term financial strategy and Sarah Levy, chief executive of Betterment, says the findings are concerning.
"When a prediction market or sportsbook starts to feel like a retirement strategy, we have a problem," she said.
The rise of legal sports wagering across the United States has expanded rapidly since the Supreme Court's 2018 Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association ruling cleared the way for state-by-state legalization. What Betterment's data now suggests is that this expansion is beginning to compete directly with traditional investment behavior among younger cohorts.
Confidence gaps persist
The survey also captured a broader picture of financial sentiment. Overall, 55% of investors said they feel optimistic about their financial situation, but retirement confidence lags significantly, with only 44% expressing confidence in their retirement outlook.
Gen X fares worst among all generations, with just 31% saying they feel confident about retirement; a figure that underscores the retirement readiness challenge facing a generation now approaching peak earning years and, for many, the final decade before they plan to exit the workforce.
Advisors who can demonstrate a clear advantage over algorithm-generated guidance and social media commentary may find that the credibility gap works in their favor, provided they can get in front of younger investors before habits are entrenched.
The survey data suggests the window for that conversation is narrowing. With social media consumption rising, AI influence growing, and sports wagering drawing capital away from investment accounts, the advisory industry's path to Gen Z runs increasingly through digital channels it has historically underinvested in.
The full findings of Betterment's 2026 Retail Investor Survey, titled "The Guidance Gap," are available at betterment.com.
