Part 2: Gen X and Y
Zurich’s recent Intergenerational Advice Masterclasses not only brought to advisers deep research, practical solutions and a process to the challenge of becoming the “family adviser”, but also created a forum where advisers shared their endeavours, successes and failures in the quest to become the central hub in a client’s tribe.
In part two of a four part series the dialogue of these Masterclasses is shared to drive an increase in the number of Australians seeking financial advice by tapping into the most powerful institution an adviser can have a positive influence on: the family.
Whether you’re an advice business that offers retirement planning advice to boomer clients and has a desire to tap into the generation X children of your existing clients, or whether you are a business that is deliberately focusing on X and Y clients, a tailored offering is the key ingredient for success.
The opportunity is great with data highlighting that only one out of every two wealth management clients in the 30-49 age group, (which stands to inherit from the boomers) is satisfied with their primary wealth provider.[1 ]However a traditional service model and traditional offerings do not resonate with this type of client. Unlike their boomer parents (who like their senior parents have been comfortable with the adviser led model), this new breed of client is looking for more. They desire efficient, valued based advice that taps into basic human drives: to learn, to acquire, to bond and to defend[2] . They are also more likely to socialize the advice messages they receive with peers.
The services that advice firms offer and the way these offers are positioned with these clients are keys to success in forging, intergenerational advice relationships and a valued proposition to the X and Y clients, that will drive future business growth for financial advisers.
During the Zurich Intergenerational Advice Masterclasses (May 2014) advice businesses shared the techniques, process and capabilities that have seen them become leading differentiated businesses in the quest for not only engaging X and Y clients but also doing it profitably.
The services these businesses had industrialised included[3] :
- Complete risk insurance offers encompassing small and medium enterprise business succession solutions as well as a well defined insurance philosophy (tailored insurance policy matching to client needs);
- Mortgage solutions;
- Debt recycling strategies;
- Cashflow management solutions and advice; using cashflow software and by deliberating collaborating with clients on cashflow management often using this as a centerpiece of the relationship;
- Property advocacy services.
These businesses positioned these services in the context of an all-encompassing relationship. In other words they’d been positioned in ways that demonstrated that these businesses understood what was important to these clients[4] .
Commons issues these clients face include:
- X gen families are under increasing time and financing pressure;
- Their major concerns are housing, family, schooling, career, self-development; • Consequently they also seek advice about issues such as parenting, self-fulfillment, health, lifestyle and dealing with daily life stressors.
By using engagement techniques such as[5] :
- Mind maps;
- Psychological profiling;
- Engagement apps;
- Visual white boards;
- Lifestyle questionnaires.
These businesses intertwined the advice solutions in an illustration of how the solutions connected what was at the forefront of importance in the client’s world.
Services such as divorce, career, and lifestyle counseling were not only offered but promoted as “the why” the advice relationship deserved its rightful place at the centre of the client’s family and social circle.
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[1] Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services, 2012, The Greater Wealth Transfer.
[2] Nohria and Lawrence, 2002, Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.
[3] Insights from Intergenerational Masterclasses, May 2014, Zurich Australia.
[4] Zurich Australia, 2014, Becoming the Central Force in Your Clients Tribe.
[5] Insights from Intergenerational Masterclasses, May 2014, Zurich Australia
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