Millennial investors are showing some clear trends in the equities they choose to hold.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger investors want to buy stocks in innovative, current, industries, with technology and Canada’s burgeoning cannabis sector among their favoured investments.

The inaugural Apex Millennial 100 Report from wealth management tech firm Apex Clearing analyzed more than 658,000 investment accounts of those with an average age of 30 years and 10 months, to gain greater understanding of the ‘modern investor’.

"This report takes a deep dive into the unique investment behavior of a new generation," said Bill Capuzzi, CEO at Apex Clearing. "As millennials mature into savvy investors, we believe their evolving interests and values will shape a new wealth management industry, one that looks a lot different from the traditional model."

What millennials want

The survey found that the increased focus on Canadian cannabis firms reflects the growing role that marijuana may have in the lifestyle and medical decision of millennial investors.

These young guns also see themselves as ‘global citizens’ so investing in Chinese companies makes sense to them as long-term investments.

And millennials also want to invest in firms that reflect their personal ideologies and provide the products and services they use and value. That means that they will be drawn to IPOs from companies like Uber and Slack as soon as they go public.

"Many millennials conduct their own investment research, using the digital tools at their disposal to solicit input and make decisions," said Hannah Shaw Grove, Chief Revenue Officer at Apex Clearing. "This has implications for how they will engage with and leverage professional advice and money management services as they amass greater personal wealth."