Zenith Investment Partners’ survey of 430 Australian advisers has identified a sizable gap between where practices expect growth to come from and how prepared they are to service it.
The From Adoption to Advantage 2026 report finds three in four advisers (75 per cent) rate the growing pool of retirees and pre-retirees as very or extremely important to their practice’s growth over the next two to five years. Additionally, 57 per cent identify the intergenerational transfer of wealth, as ageing clients pass portfolios to their children, as a priority.
Yet the research shows just 31 per cent of managed account users currently run a strategy specifically designed for clients who are in the decumulation stage, despite 90 per cent of practices already having decumulation clients on their books. When it comes to the inter-generational wealth transfer, just 26 per cent of practices already have a specific strategy for engaging the adult children who stand to inherit their clients’ portfolios. A further 53 per cent are still planning to build one, while 21 per cent have no plan to do so.
“Advisers can see exactly where their next five years of growth is coming from. It’s the client in front of them today moving into retirement, and it’s the children who will eventually inherit what’s left,” Andrew Yap, head of portfolio solutions at Zenith says.
“What this research shows is that many practices are not yet set up to provide a distinct investment approach for clients already drawing down or having a clear plan for engaging the next generation.
“You can’t build a growth strategy around a client base you’re not properly set up to serve.”
Larger practices are further ahead on next-generation engagement. Among practices managing 300 or more clients, 29 per cent already have a specific strategy in place, compared with 20 per cent of moderate-sized practices.
The research also found that managed accounts are becoming the default operating model for advice practices looking to scale, with 66 per cent of advice practices now using managed accounts, up from 58 per cent in the previous year. The findings come as Australia’s managed accounts sector continues to expand rapidly, with $292.9 billion under management as at December 2025, up 25.8 per cent in a single year and projected to exceed $470 billion by 2030, according to IMAP and Milliman’s Managed Accounts FUM Census.
Zenith’s research points to a path forward, with advisers who commit to managed accounts reporting substantially stronger results for clients. 91 per cent of practices with the majority of client funds in managed accounts report a positive impact on client outcomes and satisfaction, compared with 64 per cent of those who have only adopted the structure lightly.
“The advice practices best positioned for what lies ahead are the ones treating retirement income needs and the inter-generational wealth transfer as distinct disciplines, rather than extensions of what they already do,” Yap says.
“Advisers who have committed a greater share of client funds to managed accounts report fewer gaps in retirement income support than those who have adopted managed accounts more lightly.
“That means advisers need a genuinely different investment approach for someone living off their portfolio, and it means bringing the next generation into the room years before they inherit anything, rather than scrambling to build a relationship with them after the fact.
“The advisers seeing the strongest results are those who have committed to managed accounts and are using them to strengthen their retirement and next-generation strategies.
“The research suggests the practices already doing this well provide a clear model for others to follow.”
