At our 2023 Integrated Advisors Network Summit, speaker Anne Rhodes from wealth.com gave some valuable insights into using estate planning as a prospecting tool.
According to Anne, “Financial planning and estate planning are two sides of the same coin. Estate planning is a natural way to create touchpoints and relationships with existing clients and their broader networks.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Being able to respond to a potential or existing client’s financial need by adding estate planning to the services offered can help advisors differentiate themselves and their brand; while also helping them gain new clients.
Advisors who are having conversations about financial goals with clients are uniquely positioned to expand on those talks. This demonstrates they are thinking about more than asset management by talking about legacy through the lens of estate planning. As advisors discuss beneficiaries and appoint trusted decision makers, they will automatically make new connections through their trusted clients’ networks.
In short, advisors can deliver more value immediately. Existing and potential new clients benefit without incurring a lot of paperwork or risk.
As we mentioned above, estate planning puts advisors in direct contact with next generation heirs. It is estimated by 2030, millennials will hold 5x as much wealth.*
Next Generation Heirs
In the next two decades, parents and grandparents of millennials and Gen Xers are expected to pass down trillions of dollars. For advisors to compete for their business, they will need to offer holistic planning with an individualized human approach combined with the latest technologies (like robo advisors) to optimize what they can bring to the table.
Knowing this, advisors will also need to develop their network and tech resources to include a digital estate planning solution, attorneys, CPAs and appraisers for symbiotic client referrals.
The world of finance is constantly changing. Financial planning is more than just crunching numbers. Provide an approach that considers every aspect of an individual’s short-term and long-term goals through estate planning. Advisors can offer clients so much more. Whether that be helping plan their business and governance succession and/or their gifting strategy to loved ones and charities. In short, advisors can help clients not only live the life they desire but define their legacies as well.
*Forecasted total financial assets held by millennials (in $T)