In the UK alone, trillions are set to move from older estate owners down to their kids and grandkids in the coming decades.
Estate planning, tax efficiency and succession structures are all designed to facilitate a smooth transfer of wealth between generations. Far less attention is paid to whether the adviser-client relationship transfers with the assets themselves.
Most IFAs keep their focus steady on their current clients, i.e., the people bringing in revenue now. That makes sense, of course, as big investors are still the backbone of the business.
So, the challenge is that many advisory relationships remain concentrated around the wealth creator, with limited engagement from the next generation. That model may have been sufficient when financial habits and expectations were largely inherited alongside wealth, a pattern that is becoming far less reliable today.
Various apps and digital wealth services have become the default entry point for many younger investors
This new wave, Gen Z, comes in thinking and acting totally differently. They grew up on digital platforms, doing their own research, following influencers’ advice, and making trades on their phones between errands. They are also favouring more interactive forms of communication in this area.
According to the CFA Institute’s 2024 research, 48% of Gen Z investors and non-investors use social media as a source of investment information, while financial content is increasingly consumed through YouTube, TikTok, podcasts and online communities.
On top of that, various apps and digital wealth services, both accredited and non-accredited in terms of regulatory compliance, have become the default entry point for many younger investors.
The way firms charge also gets poked and prodded — new inheritors know about the above mentioned low-cost apps and compare everything to them. And here’s where things get tricky — communication.
Traditional advisory models built around periodic reviews and one-way communication may seem increasingly irrelevant
If the adviser is from a different generation, the disconnect just grows. Against that backdrop, traditional advisory models built around periodic reviews and largely one-way communication may seem increasingly irrelevant.
This does not necessarily signal a rejection of professional advice. It does, however, suggest that younger investors are becoming accustomed to a very different information environment from the one in which many traditional advisory relationships were established.
That said, both CFA Institute research and the FCA’s Financial Lives Survey suggest that younger investors continue to value professional expertise, particularly in complex areas such as taxation, inheritance planning and retirement structuring.
The significance of this trend extends beyond information consumption. These platforms help shape financial habits, establish trust and frame investment decisions long before a prospective client ever speaks to an adviser.
CII warns advice sector is underprepared for Great Wealth Transfer
This marks a structural shift in where trust is formed. It accelerates relationship fatigue by shifting the ‘starting point’ of financial relationships outside the advisory ecosystem, although its ultimate goal and methods remain in place.
What gives these platforms their influence is the consistency of engagement they generate. Users return to them throughout the day, exposing themselves to a continuous flow of commentary, opinions and investment ideas.
Over time, they increasingly act as full-fledged social milieux where financial narratives are consumed, debated and reinforced in real time.
Still, just because they’re encircled by ubiquitous information doesn’t mean they don’t need ‘old school’ advice. If anything, it makes trusted guidance more valuable. But now, advisers are increasingly judged by how effectively their guidance can be applied in real time amid a crowded information environment.
The real goal is to ensure there’s a genuine relationship so that when the wealth transfer occurs, the trust is already in place
Staying relevant, therefore, requires familiarity with the apps that influence investor decisions, along with the ability to provide timely and constructive perspectives on their strengths, limitations and risks.
Looking at it that way, it’s becoming clear that a lot of firms seriously underestimate how important it is to start building those connections with the next generation early, way before any big inheritance. The real goal is to ensure there’s a genuine relationship so that when the wealth transfer occurs, the trust is already in place.
The practical implication is that many IFAs may need to reconsider how they define a client relationship. If engagement with the next generation begins only when wealth is transferred, the firm is already operating at a disadvantage.
Future beneficiaries should not be viewed solely as prospective clients; they are stakeholders in the relationship long before they become asset holders.
Asset retention tends to follow when relationships with the next generation are established early and maintained over time
That may require a more deliberate approach to family engagement, including structured conversations with heirs, educational initiatives tailored to younger investors, and service models that allow meaningful interaction before traditional wealth thresholds are reached.
Equally important is ensuring that communication methods evolve alongside client expectations. The objective is to remain relevant in a financial environment where trust is increasingly formed long before formal advice is sought.
For advisory firms, intergenerational wealth transfer is fundamentally a question of relationship continuity. Asset retention tends to follow when relationships with the next generation are established early and maintained over time.
As a result, retention outcomes often reflect whether potential relationship gaps were addressed long before assets changed hands.
At the end of the day, assets can be transferred through legal structures and succession plans. Trust cannot. It has to be built separately for each generation. The firms that get that and act on it are the ones who’ll hang on to those assets in the long run.
Alex Tsepaev is chief strategy officer at B2PRIME Group
