BlackRock-backed Willow wants to help advisors catch the wealth transfer wave
BlackRock has taken a minority stake in Willow, a firm dedicated to enhancing advisor’s capabilities as they address the needs of an increasingly diverse client base.
Willow is using the new investment to launch two specialized certificate programs aimed at equipping financial advisors with the skills to navigate the challenges posed by a shifting demographic landscape in wealth management.
The upcoming programs, Advisor for Women and Advisor for NextGen, are designed to prepare advisors for a significant generational wealth transfer that is expected to significantly benefit women and younger investors over the coming years.
“We are experiencing the greatest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, with a majority of these assets shifting into the hands of women and younger investors,” Elizabeth Koehler, head of advisor engagement at BlackRock, said in a statement.
Highlighting the “generational opportunity,” Koehler said the firms’ newly forged partnership “is rooted in our firms’ shared purpose to bring financial well-being to more and more people.”
With women set to benefit from the ongoing wealth tsunami, wealth and advisory firms have been pulling out all the stops to address them by encouraging more female advisors and engaging women with much-needed financial conversations.
Next-generation investors have also emerged as a significant battlefront for wealth firms, who are targeting younger prospects and clients with strategies ranging from financial literacy campaigns to investments tailored to their tastes.
Under Willow’s new programs, advisors must meet a number of requirements including a comprehensive suite of on-demand CE video trainings, live coaching assessments, and adherence to Willow’s ethical
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