Two trends are on a collision course in American wealth management. Trillions of dollars are preparing to change hands, while the advisors best equipped to guide those transfers are heading toward retirement. Michael Gold, founder and CEO of Gold Family Wealth in Westport, Connecticut, has been calling attention to the mismatch.
An Advisor Shortage at an Awkward Moment
The Great Wealth Transfer is expected to peak around 2026, with $84 to $120 trillion projected to move between generations over the next two decades. Business owners add another layer: close to three-quarters of privately held company owners expect to transition or exit within ten years, accounting for an estimated $10 to $14 trillion in potential exit-related wealth.
Yet nearly half of all financial advisors plan to retire by 2035. Michael Gold Westport describes the outcome as “a structural gap” that opens precisely when ultra-wealthy families most need experienced coordination and leadership.
The consequences could be serious. Liquidity events, estate transitions, and family governance decisions tend to be permanent. Families navigating them with inexperienced or disconnected advisors may lock in mistakes that last for generations.
Building Teams Across Generations
The industry is responding in several ways. More firms are creating dedicated practices for ultra-high-net-worth clients, recognizing that the segment needs a different operating model. Some are hiring younger advisors to connect with Millennial and Gen Z heirs and assembling multigenerational teams to keep clients through family transitions.
Michael Gold emphasizes continuity as much as capability. Families, he says, want assurance that their advisors will remain engaged over the long haul and that firm leadership understands their circumstances firsthand.
His Westport practice tries to meet that expectation through founder-level involvement and a partnership with Carson Partners that provides national infrastructure behind a local relationship. The aim is a firm that can carry a family from one generation to the next without losing track of what matters to them.
For heirs about to inherit, the advisor they keep may prove as consequential as the assets they receive. Visit this page for more information.
See for more information about Michael Gold Westport on https://www.youtube.com/@goldfamilywealth