Feb 17, 2026
Written by
CJ
The largest wealth transfer in history isn't coming. It's already here.
Over the next two decades, more than $100 trillion in the US alone will move from Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation to their heirs. In Europe, more than €20 trillion is making the same journey. For financial services organizations—banks, insurers, wealth managers, and fintechs—this represents both an unprecedented opportunity and an existential threat.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: 70% of American inheritors will leave their parents' financial advisors after receiving an inheritance. In the UK, 96% of advisors expect fewer than half of their clients' children to retain their services. Almost every inherited dollar, pound, and euro is contestable.
The organizations that understand this new reality—and act on it now—will define market positions for decades. Those clinging to legacy approaches will watch their customer bases erode.
The New Financial Investors
The inheritors of this wealth aren't just younger versions of their parents. They're fundamentally different consumers with entirely different expectations.
They trust peers over institutions. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that 38% of adults between 18 and 35 get financial advice from social media. They're validating financial decisions on Reddit, Discord, and TikTok before they ever visit your website.
They demand transparency. A 2024 Citizens Bank survey revealed that 83% of Americans don't believe financial advisors have their personal financial goals in mind. The organizations that anchor their services to radical transparency will win big.
They expect digital-first experiences—but not in the way you might think. Gen Z logs into mobile banking apps 21 times per month on average, yet 44% of new account openings in 2024 came from digital-only banks. Even mainstream institutions with sophisticated apps are losing the perception battle.
And now, AI has entered the equation. Two-thirds of consumers who use generative AI use it for financial advice. Among Millennials and Gen Z, that figure rises to 82%. The floor for financial guidance has risen dramatically—and traditional advisors must redefine their value proposition accordingly.
Download "The Great Wealth Transfer: Six Strategies to Capture (More Than) Your Share of the Opportunity" to understand exactly how these shifts affect your marketing strategy.
A Framework for Winning Your Share
Our new guide, written by Christopher McFarland, CJ's Senior Vice President of Financial Services, provides a comprehensive framework for capturing your share of this generational opportunity.
Inside, you'll find six actionable strategies—from breaking free of the media duopoly to transforming data into a continuous learning system—each with specific action steps and detailed guidance on implementation. Whether you're rethinking your identity infrastructure, building compliant influencer programs at scale, or addressing the full customer journey beyond bottom-funnel tactics, this guide gives you the roadmap.
Christopher McFarland brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of financial services and digital commerce to these recommendations, including leadership roles at American Express and JPMorgan Chase. His perspective combines deep domain expertise with proven digital strategies from adjacent industries.
The Window Is Now
What makes this moment critical? The relationships established during this transfer period will define market positions for decades. Inheritors who choose your organization now—because you reached them where they are, spoke to them in ways that resonated, and earned their trust through transparency—become customers for life.
But the inverse is also true. Every month you delay adapting your approach is a month your competitors spend building relationships with your future customers.
Ready to define a connected commerce strategy that ensures you win more than your fair share?
Download the complete guide now and connect with CJ's financial services experts to start the conversation.
The Great Wealth Transfer is inevitable. Your share of it is not.
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