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Is Your Biggest Roadblock What You Don’t Know About Next Gen Clients?

JUMP TO: Key Takeaways

Many financial professionals who built successful practices serving Baby Boomers are discovering that the strategies that worked for one generation don’t automatically resonate with the next.
As the largest wealth transfer in history unfolds, understanding generational differences may be one of the most important factors in long-term growth and retention.

Research suggests that 81% of wealth inheritors are expected to leave their parents’ advisor within one to two years after receiving assets,1 and the reasons often have little to do with performance or fees.

While that statistic may seem concerning, it also signals one of the biggest opportunities in our industry for financial professionals who adapt early.

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What Is the “Next Gen” Challenge?

“Next Gen clients” typically refers to Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z adults who are inheriting or will inherit significant wealth from Baby Boomers.

By 2048, an estimated $124 trillion will move from older to younger generations.2 That equates to more than $5 trillion annually over the next two decades — nearly three times the stimulus injected into the economy during the global financial crisis ($1.8T from 2008–2012).3

The assumption that strong relationships with parents will automatically extend to children often proves incorrect.

When heirs switch advisors, they cite4:

  • 38%: Different investment philosophy
  • 33%: Misaligned values
  • 26%: Limited personal connection
Performance and fees rarely top the list. The implication? The roadblock is rarely technical competence. It’s alignment. For financial professionals, the Great Wealth Transfer is not a passing event. It signals a sustained change in client demographics, decision-making dynamics, and relationship expectations.
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The Overlooked Factor: Generational Alignment

Many financial professionals attempt to retain heirs by:
  • Inviting adult children to client meetings
  • Demonstrating long-term performance results
  • Offering competitive fee structures
  • Maintaining regular communication with the family
These are sound and appropriate retention strategies. Yet research continues to show that many heirs still change financial professionals after inheriting wealth. This suggests the challenge may not be the tactics themselves — but something deeper. The difference between financial professionals who retain multiple generations 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 different. Each generation approaches money, communication, and trust differently. Baby Boomers often value stability and long-term relationships built over time. Millennials and Gen Z, by contrast, tend to emphasize transparency, personalization, and alignment with personal values. When financial professionals operate primarily from the perspective that made them successful with Boomers, they may unintentionally create friction with younger family members.
  • 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?

If you’re noticing differences but aren’t quite sure how to address them, you might be experiencing the generational gap that contributes to next-gen client turnover.

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What’s at Stake if You Don’t Adapt to Next Gen Clients

Failing to adapt to generational differences in communication, values, and expectations can impact more than a single client relationship. It can affect the long-term trajectory of your entire practice.
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).

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Why First Movers May Have an Advantage

Across industries, businesses that adapt to evolving customer expectations early often gain:

Market share

Brand differentiation

Higher retention

A learning-curve advantage

A similar pattern may be emerging in wealth management. While many assume the next generation will adapt to traditional advisory models, others are proactively adjusting their approach before wealth transfers occur. When the Great Wealth Transfer accelerates, those differences could compound quickly.
  • Simple Thought Exercise

Here’s a straightforward way to assess where your practice stands:

  1. Consider your top 10 families most likely to transfer wealth in the next five years.

  2. Identify the adult children or heirs who will influence financial decisions.

  3. 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.

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Growth Opportunity

Understanding generational differences is not merely a defensive strategy. It may represent one of the largest growth opportunities in modern wealth management.
The Great Wealth Transfer is already underway. Financial professionals who build generational fluency now may strengthen retention, expand assets under management, and deepen multigenerational influence.
This is not about abandoning what has worked. It is about expanding your capabilities to serve families across generational lines — and future-proofing your practice.

Key Takeaways

  • 81% of heirs are expected to leave their parents’ advisor within two years.1
  • Performance and fees are rarely the primary reasons for switching.
  • Misaligned values and limited personal connection are stronger drivers of turnover.
  • The $124 trillion wealth transfer represents both risk and opportunity.
  • Generational alignment may be a key differentiator in long-term retention.
  • Early adaptation can position financial professionals for multigenerational growth.

Taking the Next Step

Financial professionals who build sustainable, multi-generational practices may not be those with the best returns or the lowest fees. They could be those who figure out how to make each generation feel in alignment with their approach.

Catch the replay of The Gen-Savvy Financial Professional to learn from generational expert Cam Marston how to connect with—and earn the business of—the next generation of clients.

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.

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Watch Now

Cam Marston, Speaker, Author & Expert –
Workplace & Workforce Trends and Generational Change

Related Posts

1 https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WWR_2025.pdf

2 Cerulli Anticipates $124 Trillion in Wealth Will… | Cerulli Associates

3 https://www.gilico.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KUV-0007-01-25.pdf.

4 https://www.financialadvisortransitions.com/blog/nextgeneration-investors-poised-to-leave-advisors-amid-wealth-transfer-

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