More wealth (excluding land) will pass to the next generation in the next 20 years or so than in the previous 2,000 years; an enormous transfer of wealth that highlights the critical need to increase the number of advisers.
I was heartened to see in the Budget the initiative to help small businesses bring apprentices on board; something with which the New Model Business Academy and Personal Finance Society are already breaking new ground.
However, not only do we need to swell the numbers of advisers, but also urgently attend to the way we engage with the wider families of our existing clients to ensure that the value of our service is clear.
It is extremely worrying when dealing with this cascade of wealth that around 60 per cent of families who inherit wealth do not retain the adviser – who probably helped create much of the wealth.
