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Connecting an adviser with your children

How parents and advisers can work together to manage intergenerational wealth transfers.

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We’re told our time horizon shrinks as we age. This makes sense, because the closer we get to retirement, the less time we have left to accumulate wealth. And the nearer we come to having to eventually draw down on that wealth.

But retirement often throws up a whole new set of priorities. Instead of our own time horizon, we’re now thinking about our children’s time horizon; and, as they may have their own families, even their children’s time horizon.

Suddenly, the priority is not just to make your wealth last, but to preserve it for the next generation. And that’s where the real power of advice lies: its ability to transform families by building intergenerational wealth.

The intergenerational wealth opportunity

Australia is nearing the crest of a retirement wave. As the baby boomer generation looks to pass on wealth, those in receipt of it will likely need guidance.

For the emerging generation of wealth builders, what were once reasonably straightforward considerations around saving and budgeting may suddenly become more substantial.

Figure 1: We have gone from an accumulation system to decumulation
Australians moving into retirement by year

Source: August 2021 Census—Australians turning 55 by year, Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

And for both the younger and older generations, conversations around estate planning, inheritance, business succession, the family home, tax issues, and aged care can open an emotional can of worms.

Building trust with both cohorts is essential before these conversations can take place. Putting the time in now is worth it given the potential size of the opportunity.

Estimating wealth in aggregate is notoriously difficult, especially when you factor in businesses, home contents, non-superannuation investments and non-financial assets. But with some modelling, we can get a reasonable idea of the wealth set to change hands.

According to CoreData Research, the baby boomer generation holds around $4.9 trillion in total assets. This wealth is held by over 4 million baby boomers, including a small group of wealthy “baby boomers” with $1.3 trillion in assets.

 
Figure 2: The size of the opportunity: 2% of baby boomers are high net worth baby boomers, while 1% of total population are high net worth investors.

Source: CoreData modelling (updated November 2023).

How this wealth gets passed on could be the biggest financial change in Australia’s history. It could also be the biggest opportunity in advice that has ever existed.

Building trust across generations

We know it’s critical for advisers to reach Australians at a younger stage of life. But there’s a lot of groundwork that needs to be done before an adviser can start advising your children.

Talking to other people’s children about money is a delicate matter. Wealth transfers and inheritance planning are not regular topics of conversation at the family level. Understandably, many families find subjects such as death and the future division of wealth as unpleasant and potentially sensitive, especially when multiple heirs are involved.

Building trust across generations helps facilitate open discussions about the intended treatment of assets, as well as the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ of transferring wealth. This requires talking to both generations, not just the older one.

So, how should advisers ideally approach intergenerational wealth transfers with you and your children?

Advisers may have a strong, long-standing relationship with you, but that doesn’t mean they can automatically win trust from your children.

Here are some important considerations for advisers when engaging clients across the generational divide:

  • Younger clients describe themselves through their investments: Younger generations want to invest in things they feel good about. They’re looking for advice to ensure their investments align with their values.
  • Building a client value proposition: The value advisers provide to you doesn’t necessarily matter to your children. Advisers need to demonstrate the value and utility of their advice to your children.
  • Focus on the tech stack: Millennials and zoomers are technology-first generations. Advisers should meet them where they are when it comes to harnessing technology in their interactions and advice delivery.

Technology is no substitute for real human connection, but in the right context it can help advisers engage on a deeper level, communicate the full value of their advice, and make certain tasks quicker and easier.

When it comes to ensuring investments are sufficiently diversified, staying informed about the markets, modelling different scenarios, and monitoring investments, a significant proportion of clients prefer technology to be involved.

For trust and confidence, feeling listened to, and knowing their goals are understood, clients overwhelmingly prefer human delivery.

Figure 3: Investors prefer emotional and financial planning services to be delivered by humans
Investor stated preferences (top 10 preferred for human delivery)
 
Figure 4: Investors have highest preference for digital services for portfolio outcomes and functional tasks
 

Notes: Quantitative research conducted by Vanguard in July 2021. In this figure, all 1,518 clients answered the question. They were presented with the micro-interactions and asked to rate whether they preferred that service to be delivered by a human or a digital adviser. The ratings were presented on an 11-point scale, where 0 meant “Completely delivered by a human” and 10 meant “Completely delivered by a digital service.” Clients were considered to prefer human delivery if their rating was between 0 and 4 and digital delivery of the service if their rating was between 6 and 10. Sources: Vanguard and Escalent, 2021.

 

 

Vanguard
April 24
vanguard.com.au

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Louise Laing

Louise founded Salus Private Wealth to offer high quality personal advice to clients who want to work closely with an adviser for the long term. Her philosophy that understanding each individual and their motivations and needs is key to an enduring and successful financial planning relationship is at the heart of the business.

She first engaged the services of a financial adviser herself when she was in her early 20s (long before becoming one) and believes the non-judgemental support and education about her position and options provided at this early stage has allowed her to make confident decisions in different aspects of life since then.

This confidence and positivity in making choices, financial or not, is what she wants to give to her clients.

Superannuation & Retirement

Superannuation is one of the largest and longest duration investments most people in Australia have, making it a critical part of long-term planning even if retirement feels like a distant objective. For those in the lead into retirement, we design strategies so you have peace of mind that when you start to draw on your retirement savings, you have liquidity and stability to support that.

Legislation and rules are changed regularly, so advice can help you take advantage of opportunities to build for the future. We are authorised to provide advice on and to SMSFs.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

Insurance

Protecting your wealth, lifestyle and family is high on the priority list for many clients and this is an area of advice need that can change very quickly. Ensuring you have the cover you need can give peace of mind that what’s important is taken care of in the event of illness, injury and death, but we also make sure over time you are not paying for cover you no longer need.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

Estate Planning

While talking about death doesn’t seem like a particularly appealing prospect, it’s a topic we see as a vital part of financial planning. Importantly, it’s a topic for every adult, regardless of their stage in life. Without a proper estate plan assets may not be passed where you’d like them to go, family conflict can ensue, and in the event you lose capacity there may not be an authority in place for the person you would choose to make those decisions for you to do so. While it can be an uncomfortable subject, we are experienced in facilitating these conversations as part of our advice process.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

Strategic Debt & Cashflow

Managing debt efficiently can have a material impact on your financial wellbeing and lifestyle. Having a solid plan to understand where your money goes and manage cashflow and debt can eliminate stress and set you on a positive path toward achieving your goals.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

Investments

Once we have a clear understanding of what we are aiming for and how you feel about taking on investment risk, we can help direct your funds into appropriate investments to meet your goals. This includes recommending the investment structure, consideration of tax implications, asset types, and putting together a suitable blend for you. You will have transparency of and access to view your investments, providing security.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

Aged Care

Aged care needs can arise suddenly. The complexity of managing this can be a significant challenge at a time when your focus should be on the person requiring care. We can assess the alternative funding options to ensure you make an informed choice in the best interests of the person requiring care.

Contact us today to discuss how we can work together: (02) 8044 3057 or email us at info@saluspw.com.au

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The Trustee for Laing Weaver Family Trust T/A Salus Private Wealth (Corporate Authorised Representative No. 1305571) and all our advisers are Authorised Representatives of Finchley & Kent Pty Ltd, Australian Financial Services Licence No. 555169, ABN 50 673 291 079, and has its registered office at Level 63, 25 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000.

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