Financial advice or lifestyle coach? The evolving role of the HNW adviser

High net worth clients increasingly need support beyond financial planning. Patti George, Market Development Manager at Aviva, explores how advisers can combine technical expertise with emotional intelligence to help clients navigate wealth, family and legacy conversations.

Published: 10 Jul 2026 5 mins read

High net worth (HNW) clients are asking for more than financial advice. They’re looking for guidance, reassurance and a clearer path through complex decisions about their wealth, their family and their legacy.

And that’s reshaping the role of the adviser.

Today, advice goes beyond portfolios and tax wrappers. It’s about understanding how wealth supports a client’s life – now and in the future. That increasingly means stepping into conversations that feel more personal, and sometimes closer to coaching than traditional financial planning.

More than money: the shift to holistic advice

HNW clients rarely view wealth in isolation. It’s closely tied to family, business interests and long-term legacy.

And many are underprepared.

In 2027 an estimated 10,500 estates will pay inheritance tax (IHT) for the first time, and 38,500 will pay more than they otherwise would have previously due to IHT changes¹.
At the same time, only 38.75% of UK adults say they have an up-to-date will, while 46.65% do not have a will at all².

This creates a clear opportunity for advisers: helping clients turn intent into action.

With further changes expected across pensions, business reliefs and inheritance tax, more clients are likely to be drawn into the IHT net over time – making proactive planning even more important.

The missing piece: conversations clients aren’t having

Aviva research² highlights a clear gap between comfort and action.

While over half of people say they feel comfortable discussing finances (54.45%) or inheritance plans (53.95%), that confidence doesn’t always translate into meaningful conversations. Over half (52.9%) also believe their family doesn’t need to know how much they’ll inherit.

In practice, this suggests conversations often stop short of what’s needed to support effective planning.

This isn’t just technical. It’s behavioural.

Clients may be open to talking in principle, but without structure and guidance, those conversations don’t always lead to outcomes. That’s where advisers add real value – helping clients have clearer, more practical discussions that support better long-term decisions.

So are advisers becoming lifestyle coaches?

Not quite - but the skillset is evolving.

Clients don’t necessarily expect advisers to coach their lives. But they do expect someone who can:

help them think through trade-offs
guide conversations they may be avoiding
bring clarity to complex or emotional decisions

That becomes even more important in the context of vulnerability.

The FCA’s Financial Lives research shows that around 49% of UK adults display at least one characteristic of vulnerability³.

For HNW clients this is often linked to life events, health, ageing, or family complexity – not just finances. Which means emotional intelligence matters as much as technical expertise.

The core skills HNW advisers need

Working with wealthier clients requires more than technical depth – it calls for a broader, more human skillset:

1. Confidence in complex conversations
Translating technical topics – from pension reform to business relief – into clear, client-focused outcomes.

2. Emotional intelligence
Recognising vulnerability, behaviour, hesitation and concern and responding in a way that build trust.

3. A holistic mindset
Connecting pensions, investments, business assets and protection into one joined-up strategy.

4. Linking protection to real outcomes
Using protection to provide liquidity, manage IHT and support effective wealth transfer.

Turning insight into action

As client needs become more complex and conversations more personal, adviser learning is evolving to keep pace.

Aviva’s estate planning and IHT sessions are designed to support more confident, client-centred conversations across estate planning and protection – helping advisers bridge both the technical and human aspects of advice.

Across the webinar series, advisers can build practical knowledge in areas including:

understanding current inheritance tax rules and future changes
assessing the impact of pension reform, including the April 2027 changes
applying protection-based solutions to manage IHT exposure
exploring SME planning, including changes to business property relief (BPR) and agricultural property relief (APR)
using gifting, trusts and long-term strategies effectively

Each session uses real client scenarios to help translate knowledge into meaningful conversations.

Alongside these technical sessions, Aviva’s Advising Every Generation webinar series offers a broader lens – exploring the social and behavioural shifts shaping how different generations think about money, family and the future.

Together, these sessions reinforce a simple point:

Effective advice isn’t just about wealth. It’s about understanding the people behind it.

Making advice more human

At its core, advising HNW clients is about connection.

The data tells a clear story. Many clients:

haven’t written a will
haven’t discussed their wishes
haven’t turned intentions into clear plans

For HNW clients, the stakes are often higher. Greater levels of wealth typically bring more complexity – from multiple assets and business interests to evolving tax exposure. Without clear protection strategies and open family conversations, the risk of plans falling short increases.

The issue isn’t resistance – it’s uncertainty about where to start.

That’s where advisers play a vital role.

You don’t need to become a lifestyle coach. But you do need to create space for more open conversations, ask the questions that matter, and help clients move from intention to action.

Because when advice reflects the full picture – financial and personal – its value changes.

It’s no longer just about managing wealth.

It’s about helping clients protect what matters most, and ensuring their plans work not just on paper, but in real life.

Sources

1] Inheritance Tax on pensions: liability, reporting and payment — Summary of responses - GOV.UK Published on 21 July 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

2] Research conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Aviva among a sample of 2,000 UK consumers. Fieldwork was carried out between 23 January 2026 and 27 January 2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.

3) FCA Financial Lives 2024 survey Vulnerability & financial resilience – select findings. Published May 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0