ADVISOR MARKETING

Susan Theder

Your clients likely have questions. Use this April to your advantage with these tips.

ESEARCH CONSISTENTLY SHOWS THAT MOST ADULT CHILdren don’ t keep their parents’ financial advisor after an inheritance. It’ s not because the advisor did anything wrong. It’ s because there was never a relationship to begin with.

Financial Literacy Month, observed every April, is one of the simplest opportunities you have to start changing that. It gives you a natural reason to reach out to your clients’ children, add value, and introduce yourself to the next generation— without it feeling like a sales pitch. Earning the trust of the next generation starts long before they inherit anything.

Here are some practical ways to build those relationships this April. Some are things you can start doing immediately while others require you to talk with your clients all year.

1. Give Away‘ The Game Of Life’

This is my favorite idea on the list. The concept is simple: Buy copies of Hasbro’ s The Game of Life, add your own branded touch, and give them to client families during Financial Literacy Month.

Why this game? Because it teaches more about financial trade-offs than most people realize. The players choose between college and career, buy houses, take on debt, face unexpected expenses, and see the consequences of their decisions unfolding in real time. It’ s a financial literacy tool hiding inside a board game from 1960, and giving it to a family with kids or grandkids creates the kind of moment that sticks.

You likely hear from clients, as I do, that they don’ t know how to start the money conversation with their children. But you can give them a practical, easy-to-read one-pager that breaks it down by life stage.

The execution is straightforward. The game runs about $ 20 to $ 30 on Amazon. For your local clients, designate a“ Game of Life Week” at your office— stack the games by the front desk and let clients pick one up when they stop in( keeping it casual). For remote clients, you can ship the game from Amazon with a gift note. A custom belly band( a strip of card stock that wraps around the box) or a simple branded sticker adds a professional, personal touch without modifying Hasbro’ s packaging. Your local print shop can produce either of those for a couple of dollars per unit.

Here’ s the part that makes this more than a nice gesture: when you include a short card with five or six conversation prompts that tie moments in the game to real financial planning. When the game says“ buy a house,” your card says,“ In real life, housing should be 30 % or less of your take-home pay.” When a player gets hit with an unexpected expense, the card says,“ This is why we talk about emergency funds.” It’ s playful, but it’ s real— and it gives families a way to talk about money without the pressure of talking about their actual money.

The total investment is likely way less than most client appreciation dinners and far more memorable. The best possible thing would be if the families post photos of game night and tag your firm. That’ s organic reach you cannot buy.

14 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | MARCH / APRIL 2026 WWW. FA-MAG. COM