Advisor Retirements Loom as Michael Gold Eyes Succession

Financial advisors are getting older, and a lot of them are heading for the door. Close to half of all financial advisors plan to retire by 2035, according to industry data cited by Michael Gold, founder and CEO of Gold Family Wealth in Westport, Connecticut, a wave that threatens to leave many ultra wealthy families without the guidance they have relied on for years.

Michael Gold says the timing could hardly be worse. The retirement wave is set to overlap with a Great Wealth Transfer expected to peak around 2026, moving as much as 84 to 120 trillion dollars between generations, along with a surge of business owners exiting their companies over the next decade. Together, he argues, those trends create a shortage of experienced judgment exactly when families need it most.

Bridging the Gap

One response Michael Gold Westport points to across the industry is hiring younger advisors specifically to build relationships with Millennial and Gen Z heirs before the older generation’s wealth actually changes hands. Firms are assembling what he calls multigenerational teams, pairing veteran advisors with junior staff so client relationships survive the retirement of any single person.

At his Westport firm, Gold has structured his practice around a network of specialists brought in on a fractional basis rather than a single point of contact who could retire or leave. He says that model gives families continuity even as the broader industry loses experienced advisors. High net worth households consistently name confidence that their plans align with long term goals as the outcome they value most from an advisor relationship, and Gold argues that confidence depends on knowing someone senior will stay engaged for the long haul.

“UHNW families want to know that the people advising them today will stay engaged tomorrow and that leadership understands their world firsthand,” Gold says, framing founder level involvement as a matter of accountability rather than status. Refer to this article for additional information.

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Financial advisors are getting older, and a lot of them are heading for the door. Close to half of all financial advisors plan to retire by 2035, according to industry data cited by Michael Gold, founder and CEO of Gold Family Wealth in Westport, Connecticut, a wave that threatens to leave many ultra wealthy families…