There's no doubt that boomers need your help meeting the challenges of retirement. But what about the next generation of investors? As part of On Wall Street magazine's Branch Manager of the Year Awards, sponsored by MainStay Investments, we asked top branch managers who they thought could benefit from professional financial advice. Eighty-nine percent of them indicated that Generation X (people born in the early 1960s to late 1970s) could use the help. It's crucial that financial advisors don't ignore this next set of investors. If they do, they will be missing out on some big opportunities and risking the possible longevity of their businesses.

Ninety-five percent of branch managers say that it is age, not gender, that determines who will benefit most from financial advice because of the vast difference between financial planning and risk factors during the wage-earning years as opposed to the retirement years. Sandwiched between two generations of nearly 80 million each, Gen-Xers represent about 45 million Americans, and often get overlooked by marketers. Popularized by Douglas Coupland in his early novel of the 1990s, Gen-Xers were once characterized as slackers. Perhaps that label stuck, which would explain why this generation has not been a target of wealth managers or advertising companies alike.

This generation, however, it turns out, comprises innovators and leaders who gave us such popular cultural icons as YouTube, Google, MySpace, and so much more over the past decade. They also make great investors. Branch managers we spoke to agreed that this is a market worth paying attention to, for a variety of reasons.

Wealth recipients

One of the biggest transfers of wealth in history will take place over the next few years as boomers begin to leave assets to their children. Branch managers cited this as one of the primary reasons to focus on Generation X. "Some of them will accumulate a lot of wealth and they'll become great clients," one branch manager stated. "That is probably the biggest opportunity for us, the fact that they will be the recipients of a wealth transfer that will be $3 trillion-plus."

Another branch manager agreed. "They are the next generation of investors. The opportunity is in getting them on board. You are certainly going to need another generation of investors going forward to be able to sustain your business."

Gen-Xers are in, or approaching, their biggest accumulation years, with plenty of time still ahead for their earnings to grow. Several branch managers we spoke to believe this is an ideal time to start making them your clients. One noted: "They have time on their side. With the market as depressed as it is now, Gen-Xers are really able to load up on some quality companies and investments and five, 10, 15 or 30 years from now they should be able to build massive amounts of wealth if they make the tough decisions now, and put their money to work properly. The opportunities are phenomenal for a younger person."

Another top branch manager pointed out the emotional benefits of working with younger investors. "They are not as freaked out about what's going on in the market because they're typically dollar-cost averaging and have a much greater time horizon in front of them to make up those assets. So if you're talking to a 30-year-old about how they feel about the market, they might be upset about the job market, but they're not thinking, 'My whole life savings is gone.'" Having a long time horizon means younger investors tend to be less frightened by short-term market movements, and that means less of a roller- coaster ride of emotions for clients and financial advisors.

Savvy open-minded investors

Gen-Xers are more likely to have gone to business school and many may have learned from their parents' financial mistakes. As one branch manager put it, "the biggest opportunity is that they're very knowledgeable, they're very educated and they have access to information. I think that financial advisors can truly implement investment strategies with those generations where the clients, the investors, have a much better understanding of all the variables. You have an educated investor and therefore financial advisors can truly provide investment solutions for them that maybe weren't as well accepted by the older generations."

For advisors who are used to working with an older client base, having clients who are more open to unique investment solutions is like a breath of fresh air.

This generation has also grown up during the rise of mutual funds, 401(k)s and the Internet, making them very savvy and knowledgeable investors. Branch managers feel strongly that this makes Gen-Xers great clients to have. As one noted: "Honestly, I think the greatest opportunity is that they're a lot more knowledgeable about the markets, about what's needed for retirement, that there's a definitive need to save money. They're much more educated on the topic of finances. I think that the schools have prepared them better for it."