It’s been on the radar of professionals throughout our industry for years: the Great Wealth Transfer that will shift trillions of dollars from baby boomers and the Silent Generation to their heirs over the next two decades. For financial advisors, retaining the assets that will change hands is not a passive endeavor. Innovations and techniques designed to bridge the gap between advisors and heirs are already in play.

However, in a relationship-centric industry like wealth management, successfully engaging these NextGen investors requires a solid foundation to build upon … one of respect, communication and trust.

Will O’Rourke, Financial Advisor, North Texas Market, Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PCIA), said “Establish effective multi-generational communication channels. For most families, the topic of death and plans for parsing wealth among beneficiaries are uncomfortable and, for some, morbid. However, millennials need to confront this difficult conversation rather than ignore it. In a recent Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America study, 16% of millennials displayed a “relatively high” level of financial literacy.”