MILLENNIAL INVESTORS STAND TO PROFIT HANDSOMELY
FROM "GREAT WEALTH TRANSFER" by matthew d. edward
But preserving inheritance will take hard work.
M
illennial investors stand to collectively receive the largest inheritance in history when their parents’ generation passes on its accumulated wealth. Approximately $30 trillion will be inherited by millennials over the next two decades. And while $16 trillion belongs to ultra-high net worth individuals, the average millennial heir still could come into a significant sum from their parents’ properties. “The large sums of wealth accumulated by older generations will provide a major boost to younger generations’ wealth accumulation and living standards in years to come,” said a 2017 report from The Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank that studies low- and middleincome families’ living standards. The foundation also reported that inheritances were set to more than double over the next two decades. Inheritances will peak in 2035, the report said, as the baby boomer generation – who have benefited most from increases in home values – progresses through old age. Inheritance planning, however, requires careful attention to taxes, family dynamics, and current retirement needs – and without a trusted
advisor, millennial investors and their families may not maximize the opportunity presented by the great transfer. “You review their parents’ situation and you involve them in the process,” said David Vickery, AIF, president of Vickery Financial LLC. “It can be a touchy situation especially when you’re dealing with siblings and wealth transfer, or who’s going to take care of mom or dad. There’s a lot of things that go into that conversation.” Vickery Financial, based in Cadillac, Michigan, provides tailored wealth and investment management, as well as estate and retirement planning, services to clients. The firm does not require a minimum net worth to become a client but does often recommend that prospects in the early stages of asset accumulation focus on building their portfolio before signing on. Client education comes first according to Vickery. Inheritance issues and wealth management present complex challenges that require investors to be comfortable making decisions with their hard-earned savings, and that means clients need to understand how their money works, he said. It also means that clients need financial concepts explained in easy to understand terms and stripped of industry jargon that serves mostly to puff up advisors
p.52 ADVISORS MAGAZINE - MAY 2019