Capture Your Share of the Great Wealth Transfer – How to Engage your Clients’ Children

Financial advisors are always looking for new ways to grow their businesses, but few consider that working with the children of their existing clients can be a viable strategy. In a recent survey conducted by Cerulli, just 33% of advisors said they wanted to develop relationships with their clients’ children, while only 16% had turned their clients’ children into established clients within their practices.

Yet many of your clients’ children are Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), and not only do they stand to inherit $1 trillion in assets over the next several years, but they value advice more than you’d think. Half of Millennials polled by Nationwide said they see a need to use a financial professional, and more than three-quarters wanted to work with a professional to mitigate risk and plan for retirement.

Establishing a relationship with your clients’ children can be an excellent way to deepen relationships with your existing clients, preserve your asset base and grow your practice. Better understanding Millennials is an important first step.

According to research by eFront, a global training platform:

1. Millennials love practicality. They’re interested in real-world, practical applications of whatever they’re learning, so it’s critical to link any advice you provide to their goals, objectives and financial plan.
2. Millennials are “digital natives.” They are the first generation that grew up with computers and the Internet as everyday staples. They tend to be technologically savvy, open to meeting virtually and more than happy to access information online.
3. Millennials are “micro-learners.” They prefer bite-sized bits of information when learning a new topic—think a two-minute YouTube video introducing the benefits of the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) versus a whitepaper on the same subject.

Based on these observations, here’s a three-point strategy to attract Millennials to your practice:

1. Simplify your language when describing your services, accounts and investments. Remember, Millennials want practicality, meaning you should provide information they can implement right away. In other words, the advice you provide should be easy to understand and actionable. For example, you can introduce the FHSA as a means to buy a home and explain how manageable monthly contributions open the door to potential tax-free investment growth.
2. Use technology to facilitate meetings. Millennials rely on technology to access all types of services, so why should yours be any different? Offering virtual meetings or webinars that make it easier to connect with you will make you more relevant to them and your service more scalable.
3. Use videos, social media and blogs to communicate ideas in short, easy-to-consume ways. Consider writing a post on LinkedIn or making a video and posting it to your website when you want to describe different account options available to those who want to buy a home for the first time.

We’re on the brink of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in Canada’s history—one that will make Millennials Canada’s wealthiest generation ever. These strategies will help you start forging relationships with the clients of the future.

For more information on prospecting the next generation of investors, reach out to your CI sales team.

Sources:

1. Horton, C., Zampariolo, M., (2024, February 28). The Future of Service Delivery: How to Compete in the HNW/UHNW Market. Boston, Massachusetts. Webinar - The Future of Service Delivery: How to Compete in… | Cerulli
2. “The huge pitfall that could disrupt Canada's trillion-dollar wealth transfer”, The huge pitfall that could disrupt Canada's trillion-dollar wealth transfer | Wealth Professional
3. “What Financial Planners Should Know About Millennial and Gen Z Clients”, What Financial Planners Should Know about Millennial and Gen Z Clients | CFP Board
4. “How To Engage Millennials: 5 Important Moves”, How to engage millennials: 5 teaching strategies for millennials that will work! (efrontlearning.com)
5. “Generational wealth often comes in the form of trust funds. Does it also include grocery runs?”, Generational wealth often comes in the form of trust funds. Does it also include grocery runs? - Macleans.ca