The great intergenerational wealth transfer is already underway in Canada. In 2023, CIBC estimated that $100 billion had already changed hands in the last 24 months. In 2025, Scotiabank predicted that an additional $120 billion to $150 billion will be transferred over the next two years.
However, some of this money risks ending up in the pockets of beneficiaries who are unprepared and lack the support of planning professionals to properly manage the amounts received and minimize the tax impacts.
According to the 2025 Financial Compass from the marketing research firm Léger, based on an online survey conducted across the country between July 7 and 20, 48% of respondents do not have a financial advisor and 42% do not have a financial strategy. However, 56% are worried about making mistakes with their money.
Another statistic from this survey: "only" 27% of people surveyed said they would seek advice when giving away wealth, or if they received a significant windfall.
Knowing to which generation your client belongs
"What this survey tells me first is that you always have to know your client, which generation they belong to, and what their values are," said Aurèle Courcelles, Vice-President, Tax and Estate Planning, at IG Wealth Management, in an interview with the Insurance Portal.
“People in 2025 tend to do their own research online, and to consult advisors less and be less loyal to them. But when the time comes to make a decision, 53% prefer to make it in person, because they value the human element that technology cannot provide.”
“Several years ago, it was claimed that people would trust advisors less because technology was advancing,” he continues. “It’s still advancing, but the advisor is still there. Several surveys show that clients perceive value in the human advice given to them by professionals.”
Trust in AI
Moreover, the Financial Compass indicates that 28% of respondents would consider financial advice from artificial intelligence (AI). For Aurèle Courcelles, this response shows that people are not yet at the point where they fully trust the suggestions made by AI.
Although he believes that AI will continue to evolve at high speed over the next few years, Courcelles does not believe that the human advisor will one day be completely replaced by a machine or robot.
"Are we always going to hide in our basement or office, never come out and rely solely on what we read on our screen?" he asks. “I don't see it.
He highlights the emotional and intuitive aspect of individuals. "Maybe I'm not comfortable taking more risks, but the AI won't be able to notice", he illustrates.
The importance of values in investments
The Financial Compass highlights the importance of personal values in investments: 80% want financial support aligned with their personal values, and 55% prioritize investments in socially responsible companies.
These values can be environmental, political, or even economic. Some people will refuse to have their money invested, for example, in weapons, tobacco, or oil.
Values have always been important, comments Aurèle Courcelles, "but this is emphasized much more than in previous surveys. The advisor must know his clients…to know what their concerns and values are in order to advise them well and keep them as clients.”
His interpretation of the survey goes further: "if clients feel that the advisor is not giving advice that is 100% compatible with their values, they will look elsewhere."
This fact is confirmed by the Léger study: 70% of heirs change advisors within a year, not because of fees or returns, but because their values are not aligned with them.
This is a departure from the past, according to Courcelles. Thirty-five years ago, he says, the focus was on performance. The survey shows that today, clients are looking for a partnership with an advisor who understands their values and will offer them advice that goes far beyond investments and their returns.
New generations aren't just building portfolios, the survey notes. They're expressing their identities; two-thirds of millennials (Generation Y) say their financial decisions differ significantly from those of their parents.
A portfolio that changes hands and generations
The survey also indicates that 32% of members of Generation Z (Gen Z) and 33% of millennials have already received an inheritance. However, they are 1.4 times less likely to have a financial advisor and 1.6 times less likely to have a financial strategy.
"It's very worrying," comments Aurèle Courcelles. "What's the best use you'll make of this money, [if, in addition,] you no longer have your parents to turn to for advice?"
This wealth expert therefore emphasizes the importance of developing a relationship with their clients' children with a view to client and generational transfer.
According to him, a good planner or advisor should take the time with their client to review their will and financial plan, and have discussions aimed at determining to whom they want to leave their assets and investments. This opens the door to developing a relationship with the son or daughter, who aren't necessarily your clients, he says. "Perhaps they will become a client thanks to this contact. If we've never met the children, what are the chances they'll want to do business with us?"
A portfolio that changes hands and generations is a natural clientele for financial advisors, according to Courcelles.
Other figures from the 2025 Financial Compass
- The majority (61%) of Canadians intend to give, but many do so without planning. Another 14% have already given.
- Nearly half of Canadians (45%) have already received an inheritance, and 35% expect to receive one.
- 32% of women expect to receive an inheritance.
- Inheritances are often given and received without guidance. For example, a quarter of inheritance givers say they will manage everything themselves, and the same proportion have already done so.
- 89% of Canadians who plan to give will do so through their will.
- 63% of Canadians are distancing themselves from parental financial decisions.
