This may disappoint purveyors of marketing fads, but Millennials aren't different over investments from the broader population, a study says.

More evidence appears to build that the age group called "Millennials" isn't so different from the rest of the population. Generalizations about their habits, tastes and views are misleading, potentially causing financial firms to make costly mistakes, it is said.

A report on this age group - born from the mid-1990s through to the early 'Noughties - by US-based analytics and research firm Cerulli Associates said that fund providers run the risk of ascribing too many differentiating factors to Millennials. In short, they aren't so different from anyone else.

"Of course, fund marketers should address any specific preferences and concerns that Millennials may have. However, while there is some evidence, for example, that they are more likely to buy environmental, social, and governance funds, they are also similar to the wider fund-buying public," Angelos Gousios, director of European retail research at Cerulli Associates.

Such views appear to chime with findings from a study, issued late in January by Bank of America, finding that this population cohort is a likely to save and run a budget as is the case with older generation groups, pushing back at the idea of "Millennials" being less hard-nosed over finances.

Despite being an overused term that arguably involves sweeping assumptions, marketers and advitisers make a big point about supposed specific demands of the population segment known as Millennials. The group is catching the eye of financial institutions, as trillions in wealth looks to be passed down to the generation. Therefore, banks have to try and figure out how to cater to them. Even so, the term has caused annoyance: the Wall Street Journal editors caused a stir when they reportedly told reporters to be careful in using the term, saying it had become a form of "snide shorthand". (Arguaby, the Baby Boomer generation has also drawn its share of attacks for traits such as alleged hedonism, dislike of any authority, etc.)

Cerulli's Gousios said over-elaborating over what investments are desired by Millennials is a mistake.

"Cheap funds, easy access, strong performance, capital preservation, and ethical considerations. Millennial investors may want all of the above, but any sensible fund provider will know that such a wish-list does not apply exclusively to younger investors," Gousios said. "Younger investors need to be seen separately in marketing, so it is crucial to identify products that are more likely to appeal to them. However, in marketing, some of the important differences can lie in the medium as much as the offering," he continued.

Cerulli said fund marketers should be wary of generalizations--such as the notion that Millennials will always prefer tech - when drawing up advertising budgets. Young people spend nearly twice as much time reading print newspapers as they do reading online and app editions of news brands, Cerulli said, citing one study.

I think that identifying an entire group based on when they were born can be dangerous – especially when it comes to money management.  Regardless of age, managing family money starts with the identification of goals and objectives.  So much of what we do is customized to each individual family’s needs,” Mindy Hirt, vice president and wealth advisor at Argent Trust Company in Nashville, TN, told this publication.

“As younger generations become more involved in their family’s money management, we do see a shift from in-person visits and paper statements to online communication and daily internet access.  I find there are common financial planning themes across the generations – whether it be investment allocation discussions, tax or estate planning, or purchasing a home.  The solutions may include more `a la carte’ online options but the topics are the same. For example, no matter if you are 24 or 64, investing in a 401K up to the employee match (at a minimum) is free money that shouldn’t be ignored,” Hirt said.