• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 25, 2016

About three out of four affluent Millennials get some kind of green from Mom and Dad. And while that may not be all that surprising, given the “Help me out, here” press Gen Y typically gets, the second bit of insight from UBS Investor Watch is: Their Baby Boomer parents love that cash connection, even if it imperils their own fiscal well-being.

UBS reports that 80% of the Baby Boomer parents in its survey say they feel good about being able to help the kids out, regularly paying for everything from health insurance (29%), home buying or rent (28%), vacations (19%) and taxes and online accounts, such as Netflix (13%). Only 10% say they withhold support to help kids learn about money.

The study also confirms the Boomerang trend, with 63% of Millennials saying they’d moved back in with their parents at some point, compared with just 35% of Baby Boomers. While saving money is the most common reason for moving back, cited by 39%, sometimes it’s driven by parents: 22% of those Millennials say they moved back home because their parents wanted them to, and 24% say they simply prefer living there.

For those that choose to do so, it’s a smart move, says Louise Gunderson, UBS’ managing director-wealth management. “Those Millennials who live with their parents are able to save more, and so they’re better prepared for the financial risks ahead of them, and they’ve got a little more security,” she says.

But it’s enlarged their parents’ economic blind spots. “Boomers are often taking care of elderly parents as well as adult children,” she tells Marketing Daily. “Often, they haven’t saved enough for retirement, or taken steps like finding the right life insurance or long-term care insurance.”

While the two generations may be in cozy agreement about sharing money, the study uncovered some big gaps in the their approach to investing. Gen Y is more conservative, with two-thirds agreeing that “you can never have too much cash.” On average, they keep half their assets in cash, twice the amount of Baby Boomers.

The research is based on 2,050 investors with at least $1 million in investable assets, as well as 1,131 Millennials, with those in the 21-to-29 range having at least $100,000 in household income, or $100,000 in investable assets, and those in the 30-to-36 age range having at least $250,000 in investable assets.

Younger people are also far more likely to have sold off investments in the last financial crisis, and also more apt to regret staying on the sidelines during the recovery. They’re much more likely to be unhappy with their investments, too: Only 29% think they’ve got their portfolio well positioned, compared with 78% of Boomers. Some 71% say they need help with financial planning, 70% with investing, 63% with budgeting and 60% with mortgage advice.