The RIA says the move will simplify wealth planning for families ready to transfer wealth to the next generation, and a response to high client demand.

In a bid to boost and simplify intergenerational wealth transfer for clients, Moneta Group Investment Advisors has launched its own trust company.

The trust will operate from Kansas City and is the second major expansion in the midwest for the RIA, following a Denver-office opening in 2019 in the affluent Cherry Creek area. 

The St Louis-based advisor, which manages around $27 billion for clients, says forming the new trust will enable clients to appoint a single corporate trustee for both liquid and illiquid assets held in trust. It will greatly simplify the intergenerational transfer of wealth, and is a response to demand, the group says, is reaching an astonishing level.

“Our advisors and clients have been asking for this to more efficiently pass on their net worth to the next generation,” Moneta CEO and board chair Eric Kittner said. 

Cerulli Associates has estimated that the transfer of family wealth will reach $68 trillion in US assets over the next 25 years.

“Because we are often in the driver’s seat with clients as they design their wealth transfer plan, we have intimate knowledge of how to execute it in a way that is best for their family, and now we can do so with the resources of Moneta Trust,” partner Gene Diederich said.

In February Moneta announced plans to merge with The Berry Group based in Worcester, Massachusetts, adding around $625 million in AuM, signaling a continuing trend for M&As in the sector. More advisors are seeking to exit wirehouse firms and traditional brokers in order to gain business independence at a time when the sector is also grappling with an aging advisor population and persistent low interest rates, not to mention rapid digitalization. Also fueling consolidation are high valuations reflected in a market that is currently hosting more buyers than sellers.