Thought Leadership

The Great Wealth Transfer Offers Opportunities for Credit Unions

October 17, 2024
Author: Kristin Hall

The highly touted transfer of wealth is underway as record numbers of Baby Boomers start their retirement journeys. A recent report by Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy, found that over the next 20 years, $90 trillion in assets will be transferred between generations in the US.1 And according to research conducted by Cogent Syndicated in the fourth quarter of 2023, 28% of affluent investors ($100K or more in household investable assets) anticipate inheriting in the next 10 years.

The $90 trillion question: What will recipients do with their inheritance?

Trajectory of Intergenerational Wealth Transfer™, a new syndicated research report from Cogent, found that more than half of future recipients anticipate saving (63%) or investing (55%) their windfall, while 26% anticipate spending and 26% would like to gift to children or other family members.

The majority of affluent investors in the saver/investor camp anticipate placing this money with banks, with 16% preferring to place it with credit unions. Credit unions’ unique member-owned structures coupled with their focus on the financial success of the individuals and communities that they serve position them as an optimal choice for many future recipients seeking personalized support and guidance.

Many of these recipients are looking to their local community banks and credit unions to provide advice and guidance on a variety of financial planning topics above and beyond the standard checking and savings accounts:

As investors receive inheritances, their need for advice as well as customized solutions will be heightened. Current members of credit unions will be looking to their local institution for help in navigating the complexities of the estate planning process. Despite the current social trends of high-tech and low-touch access points for financial dealings, face-to-face interactions still provide a world of difference in forming strong customer relationships, especially when dealing with the emotionally charged topic of inherited money. As not-for-profit banking structures geared to serving their communities, credit unions are uniquely positioned to help guide and facilitate this next generation’s transfer of wealth.

Our wealth management market research conducted among nearly 6,000 affluent investors can help credit unions and other financial institutions create targeted marketing messages and help identify emerging opportunities specific to wealth transfer. Click below to watch Capturing Assets in The Great Wealth Transfer webinar and learn more about what is coming in this intergenerational wealth transfer and how banks and asset managers can leverage this wealth management industry analysis to best position themselves to capture their share of this $90 trillion.

WATCH THE WEBINAR

 

1 FORBES. GREAT WEALTH TRANSFER: HOW THE $90 TRILLION WINDFALL FOR MILLENNIALS COULD CHANGE THE JOB MARKET AND ECONOMY. MARCH 1, 2024.

Kristin Hall
Product Manager, Cogent Syndicated

Kristin recently joined Cogent Syndicated as a Product Manager for Advisor and Investor Insights On Demand products. She has over ten years of experience in the investment industry spanning roles from investment analysis, retirement planning and marketing research. Before joining Cogent Syndicated, Kristin was an Insights Analyst managing a variety of quantitative research projects for Escalent’s primary research clients. Kristin holds an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree from California Lutheran University.  She is also a cellist and performs with a local symphony in Southern California.