You may have noticed a trend across your client base—it’s getting older. We are in the midst of the greatest transfer of wealth in history.

There is $84 trillion set to change hands by 2045 from the older silent and baby boomer generations to the younger Gen Xers and millennials as well as charities¹.

While the assets of the millennial generation is comparatively smaller than boomers and Gen X right now, in the years ahead millennials will hold trillions of dollars in assets. That’s why it’s vital to develop a strategy to reach out to the family members of your current customers to build relationships that span generations.

Currently, $35.8 trillion (42%) of the volume transferred is expected to originate from the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth segment of U.S. households, about 1.5% of total U.S. households.¹

Become a family wealth planner

To work alongside clients during this wealth transfer, it is key for financial professionals to maintain trusted relationships with customers in these segments and to connect and support their families in the legacy process well before a wealth transfer has begun. You want to be the known name and trusted advisor who has shown up and shown value, supported the family, and ultimately win their business for years to come with the next generation.

Attracting the next generations must be a core business and marketing strategy if you have customers in the wealth segment. Here are some key points:

• Understand the opportunities and issues of each generation. While boomers are over age 60, many members of Gen X have established successful careers and are considering working with a financial professional as they plan for retirement. Millennials are also starting to see an increase in their incomes and are finishing paying off their student loans. Many are in their late 30s and early 40s, where they’re starting to plan for retirement. They may also soon be ready to become serious investors.
• Provide expertise to all generations—then market that expertise. A mistake made by many wealth managers is establishing a minimum amount of investable assets someone must have to be served by their firms. This sends a message to your wealthy clients that you are not interested in serving their children or grandchildren. Instead, have a team who have expertise in serving all generations and market that on your website, brochures and in other marketing channels. Also consider marketing independently to millennials. Children and grandchildren listed as heirs of both silent and boomer generation wealth may be living a far distance from their family. That distance may provide you an opportunity to establish a new relationship with the family, especially if you don’t require a minimum amount of investable assets.
• Create a team of your centers of influence (attorneys and CPAs) that have expertise in the different generations. Having a working partnership with other professionals who serve multiple generations opens you up to quality client referrals, which you can easily reciprocate. Create a list of attorneys and CPAs who serve all generations who you trust to build connections across generations for your clients.
• Collect stories of actual client situations. Whether the topic is the successes of proper generational planning or the nightmares of not planning, stories can illustrate the value of generational planning.

The intergenerational wealth transfer strategy

An important part of your process should be to create a simple family tree for each of your clients that highlights each generation’s typical life, along with wealth planning opportunities and challenges.

Start by filling in the names of each family member in the tree, from parents to children to grandchildren. You might also leave room on the family tree to list the professional advisors on your team with expertise in each generation. Use the tree to educate your clients about wealth planning opportunities and challenges that both they and their heirs may potentially face. Ask them about what legacy they would like to leave as individuals and as a family. It’s a tool you can use to begin every meeting on a personal level, and it keeps legacy top of mind for the clients and yourself.

This strategy can also work well as you get to know new prospects. It may become something you review at every meeting—not just to make adjustments, but to learn about major changes in their family life and to build a more personal connection.

Entice your clients with wealth planning for the family

There are several additional ways to pursue your intergenerational wealth transfer strategy:

• Follow-up meetings. Once or twice a year, hold an informal, 30-minute family tree workshop for your clients that is open to their family members and professional advisors. This allows everyone to discuss and share ideas about managing the family wealth across all the generations, negotiating challenges cohesively.
• Formalize the follow-up. Use a brief survey at the end of the workshop to ask permission to follow-up with a yearly communication pertinent to each generation to demonstrate how family planning can benefit them. Or, ask how they would like to receive additional professional assistance on what they learned. Options could include reaching out to their other advisors or having a planning session with their family members.
• Engage family members in other ways. Sponsor events to engage your clients' family members, including activities grandparents can take their grandchildren to, such as a children’s theater event, a movie showing or a philanthropic activity, such as packing or preparing meals for those in need.
• Sponsor cross-generational outings. You may wish to sponsor events for older parents to bring their adult children, such as an educational topic that could start the conversation about caring for your loved ones or leaving a legacy. Or host an event on healthy living or mindfulness throughout the years. It’s best to talk about all issues while everyone in the family is still in good health rather than during a health crisis or following a death. These events will give you an opportunity to get to know your clients’ family members in a casual environment where you’re providing them with a valuable education and planning service.