Nearly £700,000 of client wealth on average at risk as financial advisers fail to secure relationships with the next generation
Two in five older investors haven't discussed adviser continuity with their children at all, leaving retention to chance.
1 Oct, 2026
New research from Boring Money has engaged with advised parents to provide a fresh client perspective on the intergenerational wealth transfer.
The Advised Investors Report 2026 found that only 23% of advised investors aged over 65 with children are confident their adviser relationship will continue into the next generation. This uncertainty is driven by the lack of proactive, actively managed discussion: 40% say continuation is possible, but they haven't yet discussed it with their children. 16% don't expect the relationship to continue at all, and 22% say they do not know.
The wealth at stake
The sums held among the 16% who don't expect their children to continue with the adviser are substantial: 87% have more than £250,000 in assets, with some holding more than £1 million. The average asset level is £700,000 within this group.
Continuity is earned, not assumed
The report finds that continuity cannot be assumed; it is earned through relationship-building. Clients who expect their children to stay with the adviser most often point to an established, trusted relationship, developed by introducing children to the adviser, having them attend meetings, orusing them for their own finances.
Where continuity isn't expected, the reasons are predominantly practical rather than a rejection of the adviser. Clients cite children already having their own arrangements, using a different adviser, or living too far away to be served in person.
The pattern holds at the top end too. Among £1m+ investors with children, 40% expect their beneficiaries to continue with the adviser after inheriting, against just 8% who think it's unlikely,a notably stronger position than the wider population.
What this means for advice firms
The findings challenge advisers to treat next-generation retention as something to actively manage, not take for granted. With intergenerational wealth transfer an increasingly important theme for the sector, the findings suggest that the biggest risk to firms is failing to give clients the opportunity to extend the relationship into the next generation.
Boring Money CEO Holly Mackay comments:
Notes to editors
Boring Money Insights is an independent financial and investment research, data and publishing business.
Data sources
The Advised Investor Report 2026 data derives from:
Survey of 4,874 nationally representative UK adults, January 2026
Survey of 1,107 advice clients with £100,000+ assets, July 2026
Survey of 200 advice clients on the Boring Money proprietary research panel, May 2026
