When Jay Jacobs pitched the idea of an exchange traded fund focused on companies targeting millennials, older colleagues in the room groaned and rolled their eyes.
But Mr Jacobs, the 29-year-old head of research and strategy for Global X, a New York-based ETF specialist with $10.9bn under management, persisted. He argued that this much-maligned cohort — with their tattoos, cold-brew coffee and avocado toast — represented a compelling investment theme and, ultimately, he won his Gen X colleagues around.
“People like to laugh about millennials but the data are irrefutable,” said Mr Jacobs. “The old clichés about living with their parents and not being serious about their careers are wrong.”