Nearly 95% of affluent investors either do not yet have or will need to review and update their wealth transfer plans, according to a new report from data analytic company Escalent Inc.

According to “The Trajectory of Intergenerational Wealth Transfer,” published by Escalent’s Cogent Syndicated division, financial advisers have an opportunity to seize on this emerging market due to investors’ lack of planning.

This large gap in estate planning also comes near the beginning of an unprecedented $90 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer poised to take place over the next two decades, according to the report.

The report found that of the aggregate group, more than 31% claimed to not have a will or trust in place. For those that do, more than 64% are young enough to likely need a review and revamp of their wealth transfer plans before they turn 79 (the average life expectancy in the U.S.).

Cogent Syndicated surveyed 4,938 affluent investors from April 8, 2024, to July 8, 2024. To qualify for the study, survey participants were required to be 18 years of age or older, sole or shared household financial decision-makers and have at least $100,000 in investible assets.

Millennial and Generation Z made up a large segment of those who will need to review, with 42% of each generation sharing that they do not have a will or trust established. Notably, these younger investors have also already started building some wealth, are expecting an inheritance and are less prepared when it comes to planning their estates than older investors.

One particularly surprising insight from the research, Steve Ethridge , senior director of Cogent Syndicated, shared, was that 22% of those with an estate plan accessed legal services through their employer’s benefit plan—and the same percentage of those without a plan said they intend to do so in the future.

This trend points to a growing opportunity for both independent advisers and employer-sponsored programs to offer estate planning support. Asset managers, he concluded, must proactively position themselves as a first-stop resource for personalized, integrated solutions, whether through in-house services or strategic partnerships.

Online Options

According to the report, advisers who wish to scoop up the sizable younger segment would be wise to add or enhance online estate planning options to the services they provide clients.

Among investors who reported having an existing will or trust, Millennials (25%) and Gen Xers (17%) are more likely than older generations (8%) to use online options when completing estate documents.

Further, two-thirds of the younger generations’ affluent investors who do not have a plan suggested that they were “extremely or very likely to use online options,” according to the report.

Kristin Hall, the report’s author and a senior product manager at Cogent Syndicated, said in a statement that even with increased interest in online options for estate planning, investors across all generations still want to work with estate planning attorneys and financial advisers.

“Notably, roughly half of all Millennials plan to work with these professionals when creating a will or trust, suggesting a strong demand for service providers that offer a combination of both online options and personal guidance,” said Hall.