Capital Group study reveals inheritors face major financial decisions before they feel ready
In the broader Asia Pacific region, the use of professional advice and digital platforms by Gen Z inheritors is widespread.
New research[1] from Capital Group reveals a confidence gap at the heart of the Great Wealth Transfer, with many inheritors making major financial decisions before they feel ready. While 91% made their first significant financial decision within three months of receiving an inheritance, only 18% felt very comfortable doing so in the first few weeks. The findings highlight the role of trusted financial advice to help inheritors navigate immediate choices and build a long-term plan for their wealth.
Guy Henriques, President, Europe and Asia-Pacific Client Group at Capital Group, said: “Receiving an inheritance often brings immediate financial, legal and administrative decisions, before many inheritors have had time to decide what they want that wealth to achieve. Our research shows that this pressure can lead to missed opportunities, with many wishing they had invested more of their inheritance.”
Jorden Brown, Head of Client Group for Australia, added: “Trusted financial advice can make a real difference — helping inheritors simplify complexity, make confident decisions and build a long-term investment plan. At Capital Group, we partner with wealth managers and financial advisers by providing the investment insights and long-term perspective needed to support the next generation of inheritors.”
The research revealed that in the broader Asia Pacific region, which includes Australia, the use of professional advice (92% in APAC vs 90% globally) and digital platforms (68% vs 67% globally) by Gen Z inheritors is widespread and they are even more likely than Gen Z inheritors globally to have found a new adviser when they inherited (66% vs 54%).
In Australia specifically, the study revealed that the investment priorities of inheritors tilt toward financial returns, and women rely heavily on digital platforms for advice.
Key findings from Capital Group’s research
Inheritors are acting before they feel ready
- 91% of inheritors made their first significant financial decision within three months of receiving their inheritance. For 43%, important decisions happened within weeks, despite only 18% feeling very comfortable with their choices.
- Only 19% are fully happy with how they used their inheritance. 60% wish they had invested more in securities or retirement accounts.
- Nearly half (49%) cite too many options or conflicting advice as among the biggest challenges they face when managing inherited wealth.
- Australian inheritors move faster than the global average, but are less likely to act fully on advice, with 77% of respondents saying early professional advice shaped how they used and invested their inheritance (vs 70% globally). This may lead to quicker decisions but not higher follow-through, as 52% (vs 43% globally) made their first significant decision within days or weeks, but only 37% acted fully on the advice they received (vs 48% globally).
Trusted advice builds confidence, but action lags
- 78% say an existing adviser relationship was the most valuable factor when they inherited, and 70% say early professional advice shaped how they used and invested their wealth.
- 88% say working with an adviser made them feel emotionally supported, not just financially advised.
- Yet less than half of inheritors (48%) say they acted fully on the advice they received, falling to 42% among women.
- Returns carry greater weight with Australian inheritors, with portfolios showing a stronger private-markets focus. 68% rank generating strong financial returns among their top three priorities (vs 57% globally). Australians are also more likely to invest inherited wealth in private equity/debt or private-market funds (37% vs 25% globally).
Women and Gen Z are reshaping inheritance decisions
- Women are more likely than men to complement professional financial advice with digital platforms or robo-advisers (73% vs. 62% for men), friends or family (78% vs. 68%) and AI tools to generate ideas and test options (69% vs. 56%).
- More than half (54%) of Gen Z inheritors found a new adviser who felt like the right fit after inheriting, compared with 38% of Gen X and 28% of Baby Boomers.
- Nearly a quarter (24%) of Gen Z invest solely for financial returns, compared with 11% of Gen X and 5% of Baby Boomers.
- Australian women lean heavily on digital advice amid “analysis paralysis”. 67% of Australian women (vs 55% of women globally) cite too many options or conflicting advice as a top challenge that they face when they inherit. Confidence to act is more likely to be driven by an adviser’s credentials and experience (57% vs 34% globally), and nearly all Australian women (93%) used a digital platform (vs 73% globally).
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