How Do You Capture the Next Generation of Clients?

This is one of the most burning questions in wealth management today. But surprisingly few are actively trying to solve it.

For the most part, this question remains unanswered because the industry has simply aged alongside its original client base, content to evolve with the relationships it already had rather than forge new ones.

The Original Blueprint

Go back to the early 1990s when wealth management first started to take off. Those original clients were sold an entirely different product than what we see today. These clients were typically 25 to 35 years old, and they were most often first sold insurance. As their income grew and the relationship matured, they were then sold investment accounts primarily direct to fund mutual funds.

Fast forward to today: that same client is now 65. They're no longer being sold insurance or basic investments. Instead, they're focused on retirement planning, estate planning, tax optimization, and wealth preservation strategies.

And that's exactly where the industry currently sits it exists primarily to service people age 60 and older.

The Vulnerability

No one really stopped to think about cultivating another market. The industry mainly focused on evolving with the clients they already had, which was both smart and incredibly lucrative. But it left the entire sector vulnerable to a demographic cliff.

Back to Basics

So how do you capture the next generation of clients? You go back to the beginning.

The next generation likely needs the same fundamental journey: insurance for protection, then investments for wealth accumulation, and finally advanced financial planning as their wealth grows. The core needs haven't changed people still need financial security and growth.

What has changed is the messaging and engagement strategy.

In the 1990s, advisors would sit in hospital lobbies and the ground floors of Wall Street buildings, hoping to catch someone's attention and sell them insurance. It was direct, personal, and remarkably effective for its time.

Today's approach might look different, but who knows? Maybe some of those old methods still work.

The Unsexy Truth

The only way to find out what resonates with the younger generation is through prospecting. If you actively prospect millennials and Gen Z, you'll quickly discover what messaging sticks and what problems they need solved.

Their financial challenges might include student loan optimization, first-time home buying strategies, building emergency funds, understanding employer benefits, and starting investment portfolios with smaller amounts.

But you won't know for certain until you engage with them directly.

The Answer No One Wants to Hear

The secret to capturing the next generation isn't a revolutionary new product or a digital transformation miracle. It's the same solution that has worked since the dawn of time: prospecting.

Not very glamorous. No golden ticket. No shortcut.

Prospecting is the answer, but no one wants to say it out loud.

The wealth management industry spent decades perfecting the art of serving affluent clients, but somewhere along the way, it forgot how to find new ones. The firms that crack this code that commit to consistent, targeted prospecting of younger demographics will own the next 30 years.

The question isn't whether the next generation needs financial advice. They absolutely do. The question is: who will be brave enough to pick up the phone and call them?