The numbers are stark: according to new research from Boring Money, four in five advised clients over the age of 65 believe their children will not stay with their current financial adviser once wealth transfers across generations. That’s over 1.2 million families expecting a break in the advice relationship.
Why? Because the next generation isn’t looking for intermediation. They’re looking for empowerment.
From Extraction to Empowerment
For decades, the traditional financial advice model has been built on intermediation. Advisers sat between clients and markets, “managing” access while quietly extracting value—through fees, commissions, and product sales. The implicit message was clear: trust us to manage your money, and don’t ask too many questions.
But this model is increasingly out of step with younger wealth owners, who live in an age of transparency, open data, and digital self-agency. They don’t want gatekeepers. They want guides. They don’t want to be sold to. They want to be shown how.
Why the Next Generation Walks Away
Boring Money’s report identifies satisfaction as a key driver of retention—but satisfaction today is defined differently than in the past. Younger generations expect:
- Information in the way they want it: accessible, digital, and on-demand.
- Values alignment: financial decisions that connect to lifestyle, sustainability, and purpose.
- Agency: tools and frameworks that help them make their own informed choices, not just hand them over to a product salesman.
This is why intermediation-heavy firms risk losing intergenerational assets. It’s not about loyalty to a person or a firm. It’s about loyalty to a philosophy: empowerment.
The Rise of Empowered Planning
At the Academy of Life Planning, we call this shift the move from extraction to empowerment. Rather than holding clients hostage to opaque products and advice silos, empowered planning:
- Teaches clients to plan life before planning money.
- Recognises human capital—the skills, networks, and creativity of individuals—as the true primary asset.
- Provides tools (like the GAME Plan) for self-directed, values-led wealth building.
- Offers flexible support: done-by-you, done-with-you, or done-for-you, always free from product bias.
This approach doesn’t just retain the next generation—it inspires them to engage, grow, and pass empowerment forward.
The Bigger Picture
The question Boring Money poses—“Why would firms allow intergenerational assets to walk out the door?”—misses the deeper issue. It isn’t just about retention strategies. It’s about rethinking the very nature of the adviser-client relationship.
The future of wealth isn’t intermediated. It’s decentralised, transparent, and client-led. The advisers who thrive won’t be the ones clinging to old models of extraction. They’ll be the ones who step into a new role: facilitators of financial sovereignty.
And that’s where the next generation is already heading.
Ready to step up and become a Holistic Wealth Planner?
If you aspire to move beyond products and step into the role of strategist and life architect, the Academy of Life Planning is your training ground.
Book your free 15-minute consultation today and discover how you can join the next generation of planners shaping the future of wealth and wellbeing.
Contact the Academy of Life Planning to start your journey.
Academy of Life Planning 
One thought on “Why the Next Generation of Wealth Owners Prefer Empowerment Over Extraction”