The Legacy You Leave While You’re Still Here

As we move closer to retirement, our priorities naturally begin to shift.

It’s no longer just about building wealth for ourselves, it’s about preserving it, protecting it, and thinking carefully about what happens next. For many JBS clients, conversations start to extend beyond “Will I have enough?” to “How do I prepare my children and grandchildren for what comes next?”

Australia is in the middle of a significant transition. A large wave of baby boomers is moving into retirement, shifting the system from accumulation to decumulation. At the same time, an estimated $4.9 trillion in assets is held by baby boomers, with a meaningful portion set to change hands over the coming decades.

This is more than just a financial shift, it’s a generational one.

The Intergenerational Opportunity

The scale of wealth set to transfer between generations is unprecedented in Australia’s history. For families, this creates both opportunity and complexity.

Conversations around:

  • Estate planning
  • The family home
  • Superannuation and tax
  • Business succession
  • Aged care
  • Equal treatment of children

can be emotional and sensitive. Avoiding these discussions doesn’t make them disappear — it often makes them harder later.

At JBS Financial, we see the true value of advice not just in growing and protecting wealth, but in facilitating these conversations early and thoughtfully.

“The most powerful legacy isn’t just the wealth you leave behind it’s the confidence and capability you help build in the next generation while you’re still here.”
— Jenny Brown, CEO, JBS Financial

The Value of Advice Across Generations

Something we see in practice every day: while technology plays a role in modern investing, human connection remains critical when it comes to trust, confidence, and emotional decision-making.

Investors consistently prefer:

  • Human delivery when discussing goals and life planning
  • Real conversations when navigating complex financial decisions
  • Trusted advisers when building confidence and clarity

Technology may assist with efficiency, modelling, and portfolio monitoring — but it cannot replace empathy, judgement, or shared understanding.

For younger generations in particular, the desire is not just to accumulate wealth, but to ensure their investments align with their values. They want clarity, transparency, and purpose not just performance.

That’s where advice becomes transformative.

Building Trust Across Generations

An adviser may have worked with you for decades, but that trust doesn’t automatically extend to your children. It needs to be built intentionally.

Connecting your adviser with your children:

  • Normalises conversations about money
  • Reduces anxiety around inheritance
  • Builds financial literacy early
  • Ensures continuity of advice
  • Strengthens long-term family strategy

When multiple generations understand the “why” behind decisions, transitions become smoother and more transparent.

This isn’t about forcing financial conversations; it’s about creating the space for them.

Advice as a Living Legacy

There are two ways to think about legacy.

The first is the traditional one, your will, your estate plan, and the distribution of assets.

The second is the legacy you create while you’re still here.

Sharing your financial journey with your family:

  • Demonstrates the value of planning
  • Encourages financial literacy
  • Models long-term thinking
  • Builds resilience
  • Instils confidence

The greatest wealth transfer isn’t just money, it’s capability.

Next Steps

If retirement is approaching, or if you’ve started thinking about how your wealth will transition to the next generation, now is a good time to reflect:

  • Have you spoken to your children about your intentions?
  • Do they understand the role of advice in your life?
  • Have you introduced them to your adviser?
  • Are your estate planning documents up to date?

At JBS Financial, we work with families not just individuals. We help facilitate these conversations with care, structure, and respect for each generation’s perspective.

If you’d like to explore how advice can support your family across generations, we welcome a conversation.

Because when guidance is shared early, wealth becomes more than an inheritance it becomes a foundation.

You don’t need to have all the answers, Speak with one of the JBS team today.

Source: Vanguard research on investor preferences and intergenerational wealth transfer (2021)

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