Next Generation (NextGen)
Last updated 17 July 2026
Next generation, usually shortened to NextGen, refers to the children and grandchildren of the wealth-creating generation: the family members who will eventually inherit and steward the family's assets. The term covers a wide span, from teenagers just learning what the family owns to adults in their forties already sitting on the investment committee, and it deliberately describes a role, the future stewards of the wealth, rather than a particular age group.
Why it matters for family offices
Most family wealth eventually passes to people who did not build it, and how well those inheritors are prepared has at least as much bearing on whether the wealth endures as any single investment decision. That is why preparing the next generation, through financial education, participation in governance, and gradually increasing responsibility, is treated as a core priority in most family offices. The relationship runs both ways. NextGen family members often push the office to modernise: they ask for digital reporting they can open on a phone, greater transparency about what the family owns and why, and portfolios that reflect their values, including sustainable investing. An office that can only produce quarterly PDF binders tends to struggle to engage inheritors who expect information on demand.
How it shows up in practice
Preparation usually works by adding responsibility in steps. A family might start members in their twenties with a financial education curriculum and observer seats at investment committee meetings, later move them to managing a small family bank pool that funds their own ventures, and eventually bring them into full committee membership and trustee roles. Reporting follows the same graduated logic: a family office portal can give a 25-year-old visibility into her own trust and the family's philanthropy without exposing a sibling's balances or a parent's estate plan. Families that treat NextGen engagement as a long-running effort, rather than a single conversation after a funeral, give the receiving generation room to make small mistakes while the stakes are still small.
Related terms
Next-Generation Inheritor (Gen 2)
A family member who inherits rather than creates the family's wealth and must grow into the role of steward. Gen 2 principals typically face different challenges from their parents: managing a diversified portfolio rather than an operating business, coordinating siblings and cousins, and professionalising governance. As a group, they push family offices toward digital tools, transparency, and values-aligned investing.
Generational Wealth Transfer
The passing of assets, ownership stakes, and financial responsibility from one generation of a family to the next. Done well, it combines legal structuring, tax planning, and deliberate preparation of heirs over many years. Done poorly, it is the point at which most family fortunes fragment, which is why family offices treat it as a core discipline rather than a one-time event.
Family Wealth Education
The structured preparation of family members, especially the next generation, to understand, manage, and take responsibility for wealth. Programmes range from financial literacy basics to shadowing the investment committee, running philanthropic budgets, or participating in a family bank. Families that invest in education consistently outperform in preserving both wealth and family unity.
Family Governance
The framework of structures, policies, and processes a family uses to make decisions about its shared wealth. Good governance defines who decides what, how conflicts are resolved, and how family members are educated and involved. It is widely regarded as the most important factor in preserving wealth beyond the third generation.
Succession Planning
The deliberate process of preparing for the transfer of leadership, ownership, and wealth to the next generation. In a family office context, it covers who will lead the office, how assets and entities will pass, and how heirs are prepared for their responsibilities. Families that start early and document their plans dramatically reduce the risk of wealth destruction during transitions.
Further reading
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