John O’Connell Featured in ThinkAdvisor: The Wealth Transfer Is a Retention Event You’re Already Losing

John O’Connell was recently published in ThinkAdvisor where he argued that the wealth transfer is a retention event most firms are already losing. Cerulli finds only 27% of investors expecting an inheritance plan to keep the family advisor, falling to 20% once it transfers, while Capgemini finds 81% switch within a year or two. His core point is that firms measure estate planning by whether the document is correct, which is the wrong finish line. The fix doesn’t require new technology, you have to build a cadence where heirs attend at least one annual review before any transfer, use the estate planning meeting as the natural entry point, and record generational contacts as first-class CRM records tied to the household.