Tom Murphy
RedwoodAge.com

The stock market stopped being fun for boomers last year, when the average 401(k) plummeted 38.5 percent. But their kids are still having a ball.

(AP)

Thirty-five percent of investors in Generation Y are enjoying investing, an 8 percent increase from last year, according to a survey conducted by Scottrade. The online broker's study found the youngest investors - ages 18-26 - are markedly different from their parents in several other ways, too.

For example, 31 percent do their own research on investments while only 12 percent of boomers (ages 45-63) do so. And 24 percent manage their own investments, compared with just 11 percent of their parents.

"Across the board, Generation Y is proving to be radically different from other generations in how they manage their finances," said Chris Moloney, Scottrade's executive director of customer intelligence. "Older generations see investing as more of an obligation or necessity, but Gen Y truly finds it fun."

"Fun" isn't a word used by many of their parents, who are delaying retirement plans and scrambling to recover huge market losses suffered in the most recent recession. Overall, the market lost $11.2 trillion between October 2007 and the March 2009 low-point. Wall Street has regained about $4.6 trillion of that since March, but it may be too little, too late for boomers nearing the end of their peak earning years.

Gen Y, which will be in the workforce for another 40 years, has more of a carefree attitude.

Cautious, but Bullish
About a third of them say they've learned more about the economy, and 23 percent are taking advantage of the market downturn to load up on stocks at depressed prices. Only 14 percent of boomers are bargain-hunting. Among Gen X, the group squarely in the middle, only 9 percent said they're trying to take advantage of the downturn.

The way Gen Y invests is also different. Half of them check their accounts frequently; only three out of 10 boomers do. And 16 percent of Gen Y makes half or more of their trades over mobile phones.

"Generation Y is a sizable generation. By some estimates, they number almost as many as the Boomer generation. And as the number of Gen Yers who become investors grows, so will their influence on the investing landscape. Gen Y represents a total sea change."

Maloney, whose firm interviewed 1,143 investors during July 2009,  described the younger investors as "surprisingly conservative" in their approach, although the survey showed 60 percent plan to invest more money in the market.

They're also optimistic. Forty percent of Gen Y investors think their accounts will rise this year. For other generations, the figure was 28 percent or lower.