Modern digital advice platforms allow investors to log in at any time to view real-time performance data for all their financial accounts, as well as the progress they are making toward achieving their financial goals. This presents an ideal opportunity for advisors to involve clients’ adult children in the wealth management process.
The act of setting up a digital portal for a client to monitor their wealth may seem trivial in today’s increasingly digital age, but it is actually the ideal opportunity to forge a connection with the client’s adult children. Adapting to new technology can be daunting for older members of the baby boomer generation, and for the elderly. They often rely on their children for guidance on, for example, which type of smartphone to buy, or to show them how to access morning headlines on their iPad.
When they set up customized digital portals for clients, advisors shouldn’t just give them a tutorial—they should also encourage adult children of clients to join the tutorial either in person or online. In addition to introducing themselves to a client’s heirs, the advisor has the opportunity during a tutorial to demonstrate the value of the services they are providing, and give the adult children an idea of their parents’ overall financial picture using the reporting and data aggregation tools in their digital advice platform.
The advisor can also show the client’s children the goals the client has set for them, and explain how they are personally working with the client to achieve those goals.
When a client’s adult children can actually see what their parent wants to provide for them, and why the client’s advisor plays an essential role in achieving those goals, the stage is set for a productive multi-generational client relationship.
Provide The Experience That The Next Generation Expects
After the initial connection has been established with a client’s children, an advisor needs to continue utilizing the digital technology solutions to stay connected, providing a convenient channel to communicate and collaborate. But younger clients generally prefer to experience the benefits of working with an advisor differently than their parents do. A client’s children are more likely to want to continue working with their parent’s advisor if the advisor engages with them on their terms.
Millennials—generally defined as people who were born between 1981 and 1997—and the members of “Generation Z” who have followed them are used to shopping, finding information, making dinner reservations and communicating with friends and business associates online. Laptops and smartphones have made it possible for them to do all this and more at any time, and from any location.
In light of these trends, it’s not surprising that almost half of very active millennial investors with at least $100,000 in investable assets prefer to rely on advisors “selectively for specific needs,” according to research from Phoenix Marketing International which was published last year.
Modern technology can help advisors effectively engage with their clients’ millennial children. These solutions allow investors to log in whenever they want to view real-time data for all their financial accounts, as well as the progress toward all their financial goals, in one place. And unlike so-called “robo-advisors,” these digital portals also enable investors to easily access their trusted advisor as the need arises.