Building family wealth that lasts: how discretionary investment management works across generations
12 August 2026
Building wealth is often seen as a personal goal, whether that means saving for retirement, buying a home or growing investments over time. However, for many families, wealth is about much more than individual financial success. It is about creating opportunities for children and grandchildren, protecting assets for the future and ensuring wealth can be passed on in a considered and tax-efficient way.
Viewing wealth across generations can change the way families plan and invest. Nearly seven in ten (69%) UK adults said it is important[SI1] that their investments support longer-term family goals, such as helping children or grandchildren, passing on wealth or planning for inheritance. Rather than focusing solely on their own financial needs, many investors are considering how their financial strategy could support the wider family, both today and in the future.
Discretionary investment management can play an important role within a broader financial plan designed to support these goals. By taking a long-term view and adapting investment strategies as circumstances change, it provides a flexible approach that can support different generations while keeping the family's wider objectives in focus.
Thinking about wealth as a family asset
When wealth is viewed through a family lens, investment decisions often become more strategic. Instead of concentrating only on current returns, investors begin to consider how today's decisions could benefit future generations, whether through education funding, helping children onto the property ladder, supporting retirement or creating a lasting financial legacy.
This approach also recognises that every family member is likely to have different financial priorities. Almost three in ten (29%) UK adults believe having a clear financial plan and goals is one of the most important factors in building wealth over the long term. When those goals are considered together, it becomes easier to develop an investment strategy that supports the family's broader ambitions.
Capital at risk
Capital at risk
Please do remember that as with all investments, your capital is at risk. Past Performance is not an indication of future performance.
An investment approach tailored to different generations
While a family may share long-term goals, the way investments are managed for each individual is unlikely to be the same.
A couple in their forties may be focused on growing wealth while balancing mortgage repayments, school fees and retirement planning. Their portfolio may have a greater emphasis on long-term growth, reflecting a longer investment horizon and a willingness to accept more investment risk.
A parent in their seventies, however, may have different priorities. Preserving capital, generating a reliable income and considering how wealth will eventually be passed on may become more important than pursuing higher levels of growth.
Meanwhile, a young adult who is just beginning to invest could benefit from a portfolio that takes advantage of a longer time horizon, allowing investments more time to grow through the power of compounding .
Discretionary investment management allows these differences to be reflected within each portfolio while ensuring every investment strategy remains aligned with the wider family's objectives.
Building wealth at every stage of lifelth at every stage of life
Investment planning is rarely about a single account or product. Instead, it often involves bringing together different tax-efficient investment wrappers and structures that support wealth creation throughout life.
For younger family members, Junior ISAs or Junior SIPPs can provide a tax-efficient way to start investing from an early age. As careers develop, ISAs and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) can help individuals build wealth for medium and long-term goals while making use of available tax allowances.
As family wealth grows, offshore bonds or trusts may also become an important consideration for some families, helping manage how assets are held and eventually passed on to future generations.
Rather than viewing these arrangements separately, within a discretionary investment management framework we consider how they can work together as part of a broader long-term strategy, ensuring investments remain aligned with each individual's circumstances as well as the family's wider objectives.
Capital at risk
Capital at risk
Please do remember that as with all investments, your capital is at risk. Past Performance is not an indication of future performance.
Looking beyond today's investments
For many families, building their investments is about more than just performance. It also involves thinking about how assets can be transferred in a way that reflects the family's wishes while making effective use of available tax planning opportunities, whether through gifting during their lifetime or other inheritance tax planning strategies.
These conversations are rarely one-off decisions. Family circumstances, tax legislation and financial priorities can all change over time, making regular reviews an important part of the planning process.
At Killik & Co, our Advisers work closely with clients to understand not only their own financial goals but also how those goals fit within the wider family picture. Where appropriate, this joined-up approach can include discussions around cashflow forecasting, inheritance planning, gifting strategies and working alongside other professional advisers to help ensure investment decisions support broader financial planning objectives.
The value of seeing the whole family picture
Discretionary management for multiple family members individually can sometimes result in disconnected decisions, with different strategies, varying levels of investment risk and little consideration of the family's overall objectives.
Working with an Investment Manager who understands the wider family picture can help create a more coordinated approach. While each portfolio remains tailored to the individual, investment decisions can be made with an understanding of how they contribute to the family's longer-term goals.
This continuity can also make it easier as wealth passes between generations. Relationships, financial objectives and family circumstances are already understood, allowing investment strategies to evolve naturally over time rather than starting from scratch.
Building a lasting legacy
Building family wealth is not simply about growing investments today. It is about creating a strategy that supports different generations, adapts as circumstances change and helps ensure wealth continues to work for the people who matter most.
Discretionary investment management provides a disciplined, long-term approach that combines professional investment expertise with a deep understanding of each family's objectives. By bringing together investment management, regular reviews and joined-up financial planning, it can help families make confident decisions today while laying the foundations for future generations.
As with all investments, your capital is at risk and the value of investments can fall as well as rise.
Methodology: The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,000 UK Nat Rep. The data was collected between 17.06.2026 - 19.06.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles
Capital at risk
Capital at risk
Please do remember that as with all investments, your capital is at risk. Past Performance is not an indication of future performance.
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