Koreans in their 20s and 30s more than doubled their stock holdings while also increasing installment savings and retirement pension assets, data showed. They cut time deposits that lock up lump sums but expanded regular savings and cash they can tap at any time, pointing to a strategy that leans into investing without abandoning saving.
Stock holdings among clients in their 20s with 100 million won to less than 1 billion won in financial assets rose 139% as of the end of August from the end of 2024, according to an analysis of Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Securities clients by Shinhan Card's Big Data Research Institute, cited by financial industry sources on the 21st. Those in their 30s posted a 124% gain over the same period. Both age groups more than doubled their stock holdings in less than two years.
Fund holdings also grew, rising 26% for those in their 20s and 19% for those in their 30s. Cash parked in brokerage accounts jumped 84% and 115%, respectively. That means not only their investment holdings but also the cash available for further investment expanded.
Bank time deposits moved the other way. Time deposits held by those in their 20s fell 34%, while those held by people in their 30s dropped 28%. The institute said some maturing deposits may have been reallocated to the stock market and elsewhere.
Younger savers did not neglect saving, however. Installment savings, which are paid in regularly over time, rose 10% for both age groups. Retirement pension assets set aside for later years grew 10% and 26%, respectively. Even as stock and fund holdings expanded, saving aimed at building lump sums and retirement funds continued.
"The strategy chosen by people in their 20s and 30s is not investing instead of saving, but investing while saving," the institute said. "They are pursuing a two-track strategy, aggressively growing assets through stocks while maintaining a financial safety net through liquidity and installment savings."
A push to keep cash more readily usable was also evident. Liquid deposits, which allow money to be withdrawn and deposited at any time, rose 5% for those in their 20s and 10% for those in their 30s. Together with brokerage account cash, funds that can be deployed for investment when needed increased. The pattern suggests a preference for securing liquidity over tying up lump sums in time deposits for extended periods.
Patterns differed by age group. Stock holdings among those in their 40s and 50s also rose 107% and 113%, respectively, but their installment savings fell 10% and 9%. That contrasts with people in their 20s and 30s, who increased both. Installment savings rose 2% for those in their 60s and 24% for those aged 70 and over. Among the oldest group, both deposits and brokerage account assets expanded, with time deposits up 10% — the only increase across all age groups.
A separate analysis tracking clients whose assets rose continuously found that the timing of the increases varied by age. For clients in their 20s, total asset growth accelerated from about 37% between the end of 2024 and the end of October 2025 to about 130% between the end of October 2025 and the end of August this year. Those in their 30s posted gains of about 83% in both periods. By contrast, growth for those aged 70 and over narrowed to 58% from about 154%. "This is presumed to reflect younger investors pouring large sums into stock holdings and rapidly growing their assets, in step with the bull market earlier this year," the institute said.
Growth rates also varied by asset size. Total financial assets across all clients rose 29% over the same analysis period. The segment with less than 100 million won in financial assets grew 9%, the 100 million to less than 1 billion won segment grew 27%, and the segment with 1 billion won or more grew 54%. The growth rate for the highest asset bracket was six times that of the under-100-million-won bracket.
"The mass affluent are the group that serves as a springboard to higher asset brackets," an official at Shinhan Card's Big Data Research Institute said. "The way people build wealth is shifting from a savings-centered approach to one that combines investing and saving, and this change is emerging faster among younger generations."