Younger Americans are flocking to high-risk "alternative" investments in 2026, driven by the conviction that crypto, meme stocks and prediction markets offer better odds for meeting their financial goals.
Gen Z and millennials are gripped by a pervasive sense of financial nihilism that pushes them into risky investments, according to Northwestern Mutual's Planning & Progress Study 2026.
Three-quarters of millennials and 80% of Gen Zers who choose risky investments feel "financially behind," the study says. They believe speculative investments "will help reach financial goals more effectively than traditional methods," such as conventional stocks and bonds.
But some high-risk investments are more akin to gambling, investing experts say, and the losses can go beyond money.
In one high-profile case, a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who participated in the raid to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro faces charges in connection with placing bets on the top-secret operation on the prediction market platform Polymarket.
