Early and ongoing family conversations are critical when it comes to preserving client relationships after wealth transfers. Valeri recently worked to help an advisor team at a bank retain a $50 million family client that was on the verge of changing advisors. “The firm had missed some opportunities,” he says. “Through conversations, I helped the younger generation see the value of the relationship without reinventing the wheel. They realized they were missing the deeper family conversations that were needed.”
And it can be daunting for advisors as well, who may lack the soft skills and emotional intelligence to engage and empower the next generation, says Kristen Heaney, a Legacy Capitals coach and consultant who wound up firing her father’s entire advisory team when she inherited his wealth unexpectedly at age 21. “They hadn’t developed a peer-to-peer relationship with me. The next generation has a keen sense of how other people are viewing them. If I’m going to be successful, I need advisors who are going to see me as capable and empowered even if I’m still learning,” adds Heaney, who teaches advisors “how to build and flex these muscles.”