The finance and tech-savvy Millennial generation is largely responsible for the rise of alternative finance in the years since the Financial Crisis. However, while Millennials are often praised for their creativity and innovation in the field of finance, anew study by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates a divergence among Millennials when it comes to managing money.

Not only are Millennials the brains behind many tech-driven alternative financial services and products, they also represent a large portion of the traditional bank customer base that has made the jump to using alternative services such as online lending platforms, neobanks, roboadvisors and cryptocurrencies.

While it’s easy to look at these forward-thinking and financially responsible Millennials and draw conclusions about the behavior of the generation as a whole, the new study reveals a large segment of the Millennial generation remains financially aimless and uninformed.

The numbers

According to the study of more than 5,500 respondents aged 23-35, only 24% of Millennials demonstrate “basic” financial knowledge. Respondents particularly struggled with concepts such as basic asset pricing, inflation and risk diversification.

Apparently this disturbing result is not due to financial apathy. The survey also found that more than a third (34%) of those surveyed indicated they are “very unsatisfied” with their current financial situation.

Just how bad is the situation for these Millennials? Nearly 30% of those surveyed admitted to over-drawing their checking accounts. In addition, nearly half don’t believe they could come up with $2,000 for an unexpected expense within a month’s time.

Weighed Down By Debt

Debt is…

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