Singapore millennials prefer experience-driven life: study

MILLENNIALS in established markets including Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom prefer an experience-driven life than their counterparts in developing economies, who have more disparate notions of a wealthy lifestyle.

This was a key finding in a global study by UBS released on Wednesday, which highlights a global power shift among the generation of top-earning 18-34 year-olds.

Those in China, India and Mexico are more confident about achieving their wealth aspirations than those from the UK, US, Germany and Singapore, it said.

As Singapore's economy slows, millennials here have become more attached to traditional ways of working and are increasingly insecure, the study said.

This, as they feel their progress is stalling compared to their parents' generation.

Insecurity, the study said, "manifests in greater attachment to traditional ways of working and millennials here are more likely to want the stability of a permanent job".

The report also found that millennials here are less likely to anticipate starting their own business and are least likely to move abroad to pursue opportunities.

"In Singapore there seems to be a sense of tension between the traditional industries dominant in the market and new industries that focus on tech (limited tech skills named as a barrier to success by 26 per cent in Singapore)," UBS said.

One in three polled also said they are most likely to see themselves as less entrepreneurial than their parents.

The study forms part of UBS's on-going exploration of the changing attitudes to wealth, and sought the views of more than 2,000 top-earning millennials from the United Arab Emirates, US, UK, China, India, Germany, Singapore, Mexico, South Africa and Russia. More than 200 were polled in Singapore.

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