5 Secrets for Reaching Affluent 'Legacy Leavers'

What You Need to Know

Analysts from Cogent Syndicated divided participants in an affluent investor survey into four segments.
They found that just one segment is interested both in giving to charity and in leaving money for loved ones.
Some of those people are expecting to inherit more assets soon.

Maybe you want to find, and court, some of the clients who have been planners’ bread and butter: Affluent people who still go to events in the community, still write thank-you notes on paper and might want to use their money to do something that lasts.

Steve Ethridge and Kristin Hall, analysts at Cogent Syndicated by Escalent, have some data for you: Results from an online survey, conducted from October 2023 through January 2024, that reached a sample of 5,571 U.S. financial decision-makers, ages 18 or older, who had at least $100,000 in investable assets.

The total included their retirement accounts but not the value of their homes.

The analysts classified 21% as “Legacy Leavers”: Affluent people who are motivated to give to others and to feel secure.

Those are people who might be interested in everything from leaving large bequests to their children’s universities to setting up charitable remainder trusts or using annuities to arrange for a stream of benefits for a loved one facing challenges with managing personal finances.

Matching marketing strategies with prospects’ motivations is important because “financial products tend to be similar,” the analysts say. “Investors make financial decisions emotionally.”

Here are five things to know about these Legacy Leaver prospects, drawn from survey findings the firm presented at a webinar and additional data provided to ThinkAdvisor.

1. They might be good candidates for charitable giving strategies.

They feel good about giving to charity and are the only participants in the sample who had much interest in leaving a legacy for their families.