According to a new report from the research firm GlobalData, almost 30 per cent of the children of wealthy parents ditch their parents’ asset and wealth managers. 

About 38 per cent of the global high-net-worth population is over the age of 60, the report also found. 

Heike van den Hoevel, senior wealth analyst at GlobalData, believes wealth managers aren’t doing a good job of reaching out to the next generation. 

“Reaching out to the next generation early on is critical, but wealth managers are not doing a good job,” he said.

“Of course, discussing one’s mortality is a subject many would rather avoid,” he said. 

“But if providers fail to ensure the continuation of the relationship with successors, this will amount to a significant chunk of their current business being lost,” he said. 

The big picture

Research from the University of NSW, using figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, finds that wealth distribution in Australia remains broadly unequal. 

“The gap between those with the highest and lowest incomes in Australia is unacceptably large – a person in the highest 20 per cent lives in a household with five times as much disposable income as someone in the lowest 20 per cent,” the research said. 

“Incomes are very concentrated, with the top 20 per cent collectively receiving 40 per cent of all household income, more than the lowest 60 per cent combined. Wealth is even more unequally distributed,” the research said.

“The average wealth of a household in the highest 20 per cent is 100 times that of the lowest 20 per cent.”