America’s Most Advisor-Friendly Trust Companies Showcase - Flipbook - Page 5
2025 AMERICA’S MOST ADVISOR-FRIENDLY TRUST COMPANIES
BEST PRACTICES
We asked Wealth Advisor readers how
they’ve incorporated multigenerational
planning considerations into their
practice. The results were somewhere
between gratifying and shocking.
When we asked advisors to rate
how relevant trust services and estate
planning are to their practice, the
results were roughly split between
“essential” and “handy.” Barely 5%
of your peers admit that they just
don’t care.
However, the “essential” responses
were also split between those who use
estate planning support primarily as an
asset retention tool and those who are
equally open to making it part of their
marketing proposition.
The logic here is interesting. Like the
great Mark Tibergien said, advisors
who can lock up a relationship to
the family assets in a trust or other
structure can resist the familiar entropic
pull of the next-generation heirs eager
to work with somebody new.
sure you communicate that capability
to prospects. Integrate the dynastic
perspective into your educational
messaging. It won’t lose you any
business and stands a good chance of
pushing you over the finish line when it
comes to scoring new accounts.
That’s a retention story. But now
that so many advisors advertise their
abilities to work with generational
wealth, it’s also a prospecting story.
Even if you’re only taking market
share from the 5% who refuse to play,
that’s not so bad. As it is, Wealth
Advisor readers say they have about
25% of their AUM tied up in client
trusts. Again, not bad at all, and as the
client base ages, that number will only
get bigger.
No top-tier client wants to feel like
they’re getting only limited shortterm guidance. And if you don’t tell
them that you offer something more
expansive, they’ll be open to overtures
from a rival who does.
Our opinion is obvious: If you do it
to keep your best accounts, make
Of course, “I work with estate
planning and trusts” is a nebulous
thing to say, so we also asked our
people how exactly they interact with
multigenerational wealth. Some of
continued on page 8
WHEN CLIENTS WANT TO HAVE THE ESTATE CONVERSATION
29%
CHANGE IN PERSONAL HEALTH
23%
DEATH OF A FRIEND OR RELATIVE
FAMILY CHANGE OR CONFLICT (E.G.,
MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, ETC.)
10%
RETIREMENT
10%
CHANGE IN PERSONAL FINANCIAL
CIRCUMSTANCES
8%
BIRTH OF A CHILD
7%
ECONOMIC TRENDS & PREDICTIONS
3%
MOVING TO A DIFFERENT STATE
3%
MAJOR PURCHASES (E.G., BUYING A HOUSE)
2%
REGULATORY SHIFTS (E.G., TAX POLICY)
2%
NEWS OF A CELEBRITY DEATH
OR ESTATE CONTROVERSY
2%
Source: Vanilla
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