“If they don’t put into place strategies to build a trusting relationship with inheritors there is a very real risk that this wealth will go elsewhere.”

Advisers are missing out on the benefits of intergenerational planning, new research from HSBC Life shows.

The national study with advisers found almost all (96%) say intergenerational planning is important for their businesses with 56% saying it is highly important. However just 62% claim to have a clear intergenerational business strategy with 30% saying they are working on one. Another 6% say they plan to implement a strategy while 2% have ruled it out.

A key issue identified by the research is lack of engagement with the children of their main clients. Just 30% of advisers say they discussed the issue with client’s children although 35% say they have met them.

Advisers are more successful at engaging with clients’ partners. Around six out of 10 (58%) say they have met clients’ partners while more than half (54%) say they have discussed financial planning with the partner.

The report identifies the rise of direct-to-consumer platforms as a threat to advisers retaining the business of the beneficiaries of a client’s estate and also the “natural scepticism of younger generations surrounding the value of professional financial advice”.

It argues that intergenerational planning is a “win-win” for clients and advisers with clients able to maximise the tax-efficient accumulation of wealth while minimising the tax on funds withdrawn and on transferred wealth as a result. Adviser businesses secure longevity and greater capital value by building strong relationships with multiple generations of clients.

Advisers need to develop and deploy engagement skills in order to improve their intergenerational business with a particular focus on digital communication, advice and guidance, the report says.

Mark Lambert, head of onshore bond distribution, HSBC Life, said: “Advisers may have worked their whole career to build up their client bank and their clients’ wealth but if they don’t put into place strategies to build a trusting relationship with inheritors there is a very real risk that this wealth will go elsewhere.

“While many advisers do have a relationship with a client’s spouse it can be less common for them to also know their children. This makes it even more important to encourage financial conversations with clients, spouses, and beneficiaries. Encouraging ongoing conversations is the key to retaining future clients.”