After decades of building strong client relationships and delivering solid results, many successful financial professionals could face an unexpected challenge: the strategies that built their practices with one generation might not automatically resonate with the next.
As the largest wealth transfer in history unfolds, this dynamic is becoming increasingly important.
The $124 Trillion Reality
By 2048, an estimated $124 trillion will move from Baby Boomers to younger generations.2
To put this in perspective, over $5 trillion will be transferred annually on average over the next 24 years — nearly three times the total stimulus injected into the economy during the global financial crisis ($1.8T from 2008-2012).3
For many financial professionals, this represents the chance to thrive for the remainder of their career by managing family wealth across multiple generations.
The natural assumption is that strong relationships with parents will extend to their children. After all, you’ve likely delivered results, provided excellent service, and earned years of trust.
But when researchers examine why heirs switch advisors, they find some interesting patterns: 38% cite “different investment philosophy,” 33% point to “misaligned values,” and 26% report “limited personal connection.”4
What’s notable here? Performance and fees rarely make the top of the list.
This suggests the challenge isn’t about traditional metrics—it’s about something deeper that many financial professionals may not be fully considering yet.
Why Conventional Solutions May Fall Short
Some financial professionals have recognized these trends and responded with sensible approaches: inviting heirs to meetings, demonstrating strong performance, offering competitive fees, and maintaining regular communication.
These are smart moves, but the retention challenge persists.
Here’s where the disconnect could be: each generation tends to approach money, communication, and relationships differently, often shaped by the economic and cultural events that formed them. When financial professionals operate primarily from their own generational perspective (completely understandable), which is often reinforced by decades of successfully serving Baby Boomers, they might unknowingly create friction with younger family members.
This is not about right or wrong approaches. It’s about recognizing that what feels like exceptional service to one generation might feel misaligned to another.
The Factor Financial Professionals May Not Be Considering
The difference between financial professionals who retain families and those who don’t may come down to something many aren’t aware of: generational alignment.
This could be the missing piece that separates thriving practices from those that struggle with retention. While financial professionals typically focus on measurable metrics—returns, satisfaction scores, service quality—the factor that actually drives next-gen decisions is something entirely different.
- Tip: Consider your recent interactions with younger family members. Do they seem to engage the same way as their parents? Do they respond to the same communication approach? Do they appear to define value using the same criteria?
What’s at stake
For your business:
Most client wealth will likely change hands over the next two decades. Financial professionals who aren’t able to adapt to generational differences could find themselves constantly rebuilding rather than building on existing relationships.For your clients:
When heirs start over with a new financial professional, decades of family financial context can disappear. The coordination you’ve built across tax strategies, investment approaches, and family goals might need to be reconstructed during already challenging transitions.For long-term positioning:
Financial professionals who don’t adapt to generational behaviors and preferences risk limiting their practice to clients in the decumulation stage—while missing the chance to build relationships with today’s wealth builders (tomorrow’s high-net-worth clients).First Mover Advantage
Successful businesses across industries share a common pattern: they tend to adapt to changing customer expectations before those changes become obvious to everyone else.
First movers experience early market share, higher margins, strong brand recognition, and a learning curve advantage.
A similar dynamic may be emerging in our industry with generational differences. While most financial professionals assume the next generation will adapt to traditional advisory practices, some are already learning to bridge generational gaps before wealth transfer occurs.
When the Great Wealth Transfer accelerates, first movers could be positioned quite differently than their peers.
- Simple Thought Exercise
Here’s a straightforward way to assess where your practice stands:
- Consider your top 10 families most likely to transfer wealth in the next five years.
- Identify the adult children or heirs who will influence financial decisions.
- For each heir, honestly evaluate:
- When did you last have a meaningful conversation with them about their personal goals?
- Do you sense they’re genuinely engaged with your current approach?
- Would they likely describe your approach as well-suited to their generation?
Where you feel uncertain could indicate both potential risk and opportunity. Every gap you identify now could be a relationship you can strengthen.
Growth Opportunity
Understanding generational differences isn’t just about risk management — it could represent one of the biggest growth opportunities in wealth management today.
The Great Wealth Transfer is already under way. Financial professionals who start building generational fluency now could increase their client retention, assets under management, and influence across generations.
Those who wait could find themselves working harder to catch up down the road.
This isn’t about abandoning what’s worked with your current clients. It’s about expanding your capabilities to serve families across generational lines and future-proof your practice.
Taking the Next Step
If you haven’t already registered, join us on October 22nd for, The Gen-Savvy Financial Professional, where generational expert Cam Marston will share specific insights about what different generations are looking for and how you might adapt your approach accordingly.
Because in the greatest wealth transfer in history, understanding generational differences could be the factor that separates practices that flourish in the future from those that fade away over time.
Cam Marston, Speaker, Author & Expert –
Workplace & Workforce Trends and Generational Change