With trillions of dollars changing hands annually, the 'Great Wealth Transfer' is in full swing. Amidst accelerating wealth transfers, it is critical for wealth managers, asset managers, and other industry participants to enact best practices with current relationships while shifting service and product strategies to the future profile of the high-net-worth demographic, according to The Cerulli Report—U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2024.

Cerulli projects that wealth transferred through 2048 will total $124 trillion—$105 trillion is expected to flow to heirs, while $18 trillion will go to charity. Nearly $100 trillion will be transferred from Baby Boomers and older generations, representing 81% of all transfers. More than 50% of the overall total volume of transfers ($62 trillion) is expected to come from those who are currently high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth (HNW/UHNW), which together make up only 2% of all households.

Projections of horizontal, or intra-generational, transfers show that $54 trillion will be passed on to spouses before eventually transferring intergenerationally to heirs and to charities. Nearly $40 trillion of these spousal transfers will be going to widowed women in the Baby Boomer and older generations, creating a massive need, and opportunity, for providers across the wealth and asset management spaces.

Millennials will be inheriting the most of any generation over the course of the next 25 years ($46 trillion). However, Gen X stands to inherit the greatest portion of assets in the next 10 years, totaling $14 trillion to Millennials’ $8 trillion.

“Eventually, most of the wealth owned by older generations in the U.S. will be either donated or passed down to Gen X or Millennial heirs. With $85 trillion to be passed down to these generations collectively, providers that can establish relationships with, and adequately address the needs of, these younger investors will be well positioned for success,” says Chayce Horton, senior analyst.

Developing relationships with clients’ spouses or children is a top long-term growth strategy among HNW practices as the prospect of wealth moving from primary clients to spouses and children becomes ever more urgent. Conducting family meetings and maintaining a regular cadence of communication amongst family members is a key best practice, according to 89% of firms surveyed by Cerulli in 2024.

“Ultimately, there are notable differences in service and product preferences among women and next-generation clients compared to current client demographics, and as wealth moves, these differences are likely to shift marketshare in favor of firms that are best prepared to meet the needs of those recipients,” concludes Horton.