Talking about finance over New Year's Eve dinner: People's wealth management is becoming more rational and diversified

During the Chinese New Year, around the family dinner table, besides warm family stories, financial topics have become a hot topic among the “old, middle-aged, and young.”

At an ordinary family dinner in Zhengzhou, Henan, Xiao Ya (pseudonym), a post-95s who has been working for three years, shares her “New Three Golds” (money market funds, bond funds, and gold funds) investment portfolio. Her cousin Li Wei (pseudonym) shows a newly purchased gold bar, talking about long-term plans for children. Xiao Ya’s mother, in her sixties, is planning her “fund transfer” for the new year… A casual chat at the dinner table sketches out the vastly different investment choices across generations and reflects the intergenerational shifts and characteristics of current residents’ financial concepts.

Youth: “New Three Golds” Become Popular

“I now divide my funds into three parts, buying money market funds, bond funds, and gold funds. I can access the money anytime and earn some returns, which is much better than keeping everything in a bank card,” Xiao Ya shares her financial experience. This investment combination, called the “New Three Golds” by young people, has become her and her friends’ standard investment.

As a newcomer to the workforce, Xiao Ya admits, “Bank deposit interest rates keep falling, and traditional savings can no longer meet my financial needs. The stock market’s volatility also makes me hesitant. The ‘New Three Golds’ are low-threshold, easy to operate, balancing liquidity and stability, which perfectly fits young people’s desire to ‘avoid big risks but still want their money to grow.’”

Young investors like Xiao Ya are a new force in today’s financial market. Data from Ant Fortune shows that by the end of 2025, over 20 million users on Ant Fortune have accumulated their own “New Three Golds,” with nearly half being post-90s young people. Tian Lihui, a finance professor at Nankai University, told Securities Daily, “The rise of the ‘New Three Golds’ marks a significant upgrade in young people’s financial concepts. Growing up in the internet era, they have abandoned passive traditional savings and shifted toward active, diversified asset allocation, integrating finance into daily life.”

Middle-aged: Diversification and Long-term Planning

“My year-end bonus is just enough to buy 20 grams of investment gold bars, which I plan to use as a ‘growth fund’ for my children,” Li Wei laughs. “Actually, since my child was born, I’ve had the idea of long-term wealth accumulation for them. Over the past two years, I’ve switched to saving gold. Every year, I plan to set aside some idle funds to buy investment gold bars. When my child turns an adult, it will be a solid fortune.”

Li Wei also states that his investment portfolio is quite diversified: some money is deposited in banks for safety; some is invested in stocks and mixed funds in pursuit of higher returns; and some is allocated to bond funds for steady growth.

Investigations show that middle-aged groups like Li Wei are becoming the “balancers” in the financial market. As the economic backbone of their families, they need to balance household expenses, children’s education, and elderly care.

Tian Lihui analyzes that middle-aged investors tend to be more rational and planned in their choices. They are open to new financial methods but still trust traditional, stable assets. They seek the best balance between risk and return, making them typical “planned” investors.

Elderly: Favor Savings Products

In contrast, parents’ generation has their own “old rules” when it comes to financial management. Xiao Ya’s mother’s investment list is dominated by low-risk products like bank fixed deposits and government bonds. Having witnessed market fluctuations, she understands the importance of “capital preservation” for ordinary families. For the older generation, “not losing money” is the top principle.

Investigations reveal that elderly investors like Xiao Ya’s mother, especially in third- and fourth-tier cities, prioritize “principal safety” and “maximizing interest.” They are highly sensitive to interest rate fluctuations across banks, and “fund transfers” have become common. “Joint-stock banks and city commercial banks offer higher interest rates than big banks. I definitely choose the higher-yield ones,” she says. She keeps a close eye on interest rate differences and adjusts her deposits accordingly.

Influenced by their era and life experience, most elderly investors prefer low-risk, fixed-yield savings products. Their financial management is mainly to meet urgent needs like retirement and medical expenses, rather than seeking value appreciation. They prioritize peace of mind. Their investment behaviors embody traditional financial concepts, reflecting the simple understanding of wealth management held by that generation.

The financial discussions at the New Year’s dinner table reveal the differences across “old, middle, and young.” From the older generation’s “capital preservation first, only trust savings,” to the middle-aged’s “diversification and risk balancing,” and the young’s “lightweight, proactive planning,” these differences are not only about age and experience but also the imprint of societal development on residents’ financial concepts. Scientific planning and rational investing have become common ground for all generations—protecting their “money bags” in the new year and working together toward a better life.