“You can’t put an old head on young shoulders,” as one saying goes. “The younger generation has more ideas than the older generation has ever heard of” goes another. If we look to such wisdom of the ages for clues to which generation is best positioned to steward a family’s wealth, it seems the jury remains out. 

The findings from our 2024 Family Barometer – in which we ask the opinions of the experts closest to wealthy families – suggest that these conflicting generational views are also reflected in the beliefs and choices prosperous families confront during the process of transferring wealth. 

Reluctance to engage in open discussions

This year’s survey shows that the different generations within wealthy families are mostly aligned on their values and priorities, with 86 per cent declaring that the wealth givers and receivers were either mostly or fully aligned. To explore the data from the survey in full, access the Family Barometer.

However, our findings also reveal that wealth givers in all regions appear reluctant to openly discuss with their prospective heirs either the extent of the wealth they are likely to inherit, or how the wealth receivers might manage their inheritance. 

Fear of creating family conflict

What causes this reticence? The respondents in our survey highlighted concerns such as not wanting to involve children too early, cultural roadblocks, existing generational differences, and fears about negatively impacting the ambition and work ethic of the next generation. Many wealthy families were also concerned about the complex and multifaceted nature of wealth transfer challenges. 

“Given the internationalisation of wealth nowadays, where family members reside in different jurisdictions and hold different types of assets in different countries, inheritance planning is extremely important,” says María Eugenia Mosquera, Head Wealth Planning Key Clients & Family Office Services. “In these cases, a simple discussion or last will might not be sufficient to address all the family needs.”

Above all, this year’s findings indicate that it’s the prospect of jeopardising the family’s common understanding that leads to reserve among wealth givers. Across all regions, the most commonly cited concern (46%) stopping families from engaging in wealth transfer discussions is the fear that it might cause family conflicts. 

Education is a two-way street

One of the significant drawbacks of delaying wealth transfer discussions within families is the missed opportunity for education that these discussions provide. Year after year, our Family Barometer shows the importance of education to wealthy families. This year, wealth education receives significant priority from 55% of wealthy families. 

While education in this context is commonly held to mean equipping the rising generation to learn about wealth stewardship, trusted advisors can also smooth discussions between the generations by ensuring that the learning flows in both directions – not only from the older family members to the younger, but vice versa. 

“Wealth givers and receivers often have different goals and expectations. By listening to each other’s viewpoints and respecting each other’s insights, both parties can appreciate the concerns, values and intentions behind wealth decisions,” says Marco Sella-Rolando, Head of Wealth Planning International at Julius Baer.

Rising generation offers fresh insights

In our experience of serving multiple generations of families and from programmes such as Julius Baer’s Young Partners community, a family’s elders can pick up many modern strategies for wealth management from their younger counterparts.

Take the integration of new technologies. Younger generations commonly use digital banking and financial apps to track their spending, budgeting and investing, while they also have a sound grasp of new investment opportunities in crypto assets and the underlying blockchain technology. 

Their greater willingness to invest in companies that prioritise environment, social and governance criteria also brings diversification and risk management advantages as well as alignment with evolving market and regulatory trends.

Best of both worlds

Against the backdrop of mounting complexity and rapidly changing financial landscapes that families face, no one generation can legitimately claim to be the ultimate authority when it comes to wealth management. 

In this sense, both of our proverbs hold true. The rising generation benefits from listening to the lessons learned of older generations, while the family’s senior members should work with professional advisors to ensure they systematically tap the knowledge of younger family members. After all, the family that learns together, grows together. 

For further insights on this and more, explore our Family Barometer report.