The trend toward holistic wealth management
The next generation of high net worth families wants more from their financial advisors. 

According to new research from Fidelity, 71 per cent of Millennials (versus 51 per cent of Baby Boomers) say they would prefer to do most of their financial business at one institution that can bring together the specialists and services they need, rather than working with a number of different advisors.

If younger families expect a simpler solution – one go-to place to turn when they need help managing any aspect of their wealth and their lives – wealth managers and family offices need to evolve to meet a wider range of needs. 

Enter, holistic wealth management, an approach that goes beyond financial services, and recognizes that financial health is closely intertwined with physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing. 

In a recent conversation on FOXCast, the podcast hosted by the , for example, works with firms to provide support for non-financial assets, such as their homes, art, yachts and aircraft. 

Increasingly, firms are partnering with technology platforms to expand their services. For example, Nines allows firms to provide estate management services, Vanilla allows them to provide estate planning, and Giving Place allows them to provide support for charitable giving – all without investing the time and resources that would historically have been required.

This is partly because the next generation expects technology platforms that allow them to easily communicate and check in on progress, but the right tech partnership has a few key benefits to the advisors, as well:

-- Efficiencies. Building a solution in-house could take years. The right partnership allows you to implement new services quickly and at a lower cost; 
-- Internal time savings. Inevitably, families ask their advisors for help with things that are outside the box. If you’re already fielding these requests, the right partnership will save time for you and your clients; 
-- Subject area expertise. Tech partnerships allow you to tap into a wealth of knowledge in each particular niche, without bringing experts in house; and 
-- Continuity. Each time you hire a new analyst in the family office, it takes training and time for them to get up to speed. Having systems and processes lets you navigate turnover with minimal disruption to the family.

Holistic wealth management is an opportunity to foster the holistic success of the families you support, and wealth managers and family offices that embrace a holistic approach stand to win the attention and loyalty of the next generation. 

About the author
Jacco de Bruijn is an experienced technology entrepreneur who has been leading revenue and operations teams and scaling several businesses from inception to acquisition. He has a passion for creating customer-centric brands and building an employee-first culture. As co-founder and CEO of Nines – a 2023 Family Wealth Report Awards finalist in the Property & Household and Product Innovation categories – Jacco works with UHNW families and the advisors and private service professionals who support them, using software to simplify and elevate complex and demanding households.