The economic fallout from the pandemic has been a harsh reminder of how fleeting financial security can be. Many millennials have taken that lesson to heart and not only want to save more but also learn more about the investment companies behind their funds.

Four in 10 millennials changed their savings and investment attitudes during the pandemic, according to the latest survey from Hearts & Wallets, a market research and benchmarking firm. Three key metrics are at the highest level of the past decade, reflecting an overall positive mood about finances and investing:

• More than half of U.S. households feel no or little "anxiety about their financial situation as they look to their future."
• Nationally, nearly 30 percent of households feel "very" or "somewhat" experienced with investing.
• More than a third of households feel "very" or "somewhat" comfortable in "accepting volatility in the hope of getting a higher return." 

Millennials showed an 11 percent increase in one year of feeling experienced as investors. They also were the generation most comfortable with investing risk this year where previously this generation had been the most skittish.