Great Wealth Transfer gets reality check, but opportunities still abound for advisors

The vast sums involved in the Great Wealth Transfer may not be quite as large as previously thought, according to new research from Visa Business and Economic Insights. But there are still big opportunities for advisors tied to how clients save and spend this windfall.

Long viewed as a massive boon for the financial advisory industry, the so-called Great Wealth Transfer marks a massive intergenerational shift in wealth dynamics. While this has been estimated by Cerulli Associates to be in excess of $100 trillion, Visa thinks that the actual sum may be much smaller.

Is the wealth transfer still 'great'?

The research found that, after subtracting liabilities and accounting for retirement spending, charitable bequests, taxes and fees, approximately $36 trillion of baby boomers’ $93 trillion in assets will pass to Gen X and millennial heirs over the next 20 years. This is equivalent to approximately $515,000 per inheriting household, Visa said.

These figures, of course, are still gargantuan. To put the $36 trillion number into perspective, U.S. GDP stood at $32.38 trillion, as of April 2026, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Importantly, the study found that nearly 75% of those receiving an inheritance already have a higher net worth than the median. This means that $28 trillion of the $36 trillion is likely to be saved, invested or put into assets such as property, presenting “a significant opportunity” for wealth managers, banks and fintech firms as they compete for assets from newly inheriting households, Visa said, in a statement.

The amount of money actually spent as a result of the wealth transfer will be much smaller, at $8 trillion, according to Visa. This could influence auto purchases, as well as housing, through assistance with down payments, and travel, such as so-called “skip generation” vacations where, say, the grandparents travel with the grandchildren.

Consumer purchases in the spotlight

“For businesses in big-ticket sectors like housing and travel, this is not a future trend to watch,” said Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa, in a statement. “It is already influencing consumer decisions—and shaping where growth will be distributed in the years ahead.”

There have been various estimates as to the scale of the Great Wealth Transfer – in 2024 Cerulli Associates projected that $124 trillion in wealth will be transferred through 2048. Within that number, nearly $100 trillion will be transferred from Baby Boomers and older generations, according to Cerulli, representing 81% of all transfers.

UBS’s Golden Next Generation 2026 report, released in April 2026, estimates that $83 trillion in private assets will shift between generations over the course of the next two to three decades.

Wealth is changing hands earlier

There are other key themes in how wealth is changing hands. In its study, Visa found that more families are transferring wealth earlier while they can see its impact. Set against this backdrop, one in four millennial homeowners have received parental assistance with a down payment, and 28% of grandparents have already taken a skip-generation vacation, while 35% plan to do so within the next three years.

While Visa’s research excludes the top 1% of households, who it describes as outliers in how they spend their wealth, the study's findings highlight key trends that advisors can expect from their clients, whether in housing, travel, or even purchasing a new car.

What this means for advisors

The numbers point to two practical shifts for advisors: wealth is moving earlier than the traditional estate-planning timeline assumes, and most of it will be reinvested rather than spent. That combination rewards firms that build relationships with the next generation now, rather than waiting for a transfer event to force the introduction. In practical terms, this means that advisors should be having the important conversations with clients as soon as possible, particularly when it comes to transfer timing and lifetime gifting. If they do this, they'll be in a better position to serve both generations as money moves.