Many of your clients will experience major life changes. It might be an unexpected divorce, a death in the family, a sudden inheritance or a surprise health diagnosis. It could even be some combination of those events.

When those big life transitions occur, you can become more valuable to your clients than ever before—but only if you take the right steps and ask the right questions.

Here’s a look at what clients really think and feel—and what they most want from their advisors—when their lives change in fundamental ways, based on CEG Insights’ survey of 1,150 affluent investors who have experienced at least one major life transition.

Lessons for advisors

CEG Insights’ research offers some valuable lessons for advisors when their clients experience a major life change.

1. Expect uncertainty and stress. Nearly two-thirds of investors in transition experience some degree of decision paralysis in the initial months following a life event. And among Gen Z and Millennial investors, nearly one in five experiences severe or total decision paralysis.

When these clients do make decisions, they often doubt their choices. Example: 69.2% percent of Gen X investors reported having regrets about early decisions they made during their life transition. Gen Z and Millennial investors are the most regretful, with the vast majority (78.2%) having regrets about their early decisions.

2. Address clients’ peace of mind first. Clients were asked what they wanted their advisor to help them with most during their transitional event. The clear winner: having peace of mind (37.4%). In contrast, technical concerns such as investment returns (27.9%) and tax efficiency (16.9%) were far less pressing issues.

3. Focus on the personal, not the portfolio, to foster trust. A solid majority of investors in transition—63.0%—said they're more likely to trust an advisor who asks about their personal life and stress levels before discussing the portfolio. That percentage was even higher among Gen Z/Millennials, at 75.8%.

Likewise, when asked which of the advisors’ demonstrated skills built the most trust during their life transition, the top responses were the advisor’s emotional intelligence (30.7%) and responsiveness (26.9%). The advisor’s technical competence was the skill that built the most trust for just 21.7% of investors.

The upshot: Lead with the relationship, not the recommendation. Put empathy ahead of allocations.

Action steps

Before you do anything else, ensure you have a process in place for uncovering your clients’ life transitions. If you’re unaware of what’s going on, you can’t help—and your trustworthiness and reliability may be questioned. Put a simple question into every client review: Has anything significantly changed in your family, health, business, relationships or responsibilities since we last met? Find out what's going on in the background of that person's life.

If you discover a client has recently experienced a major life event, take these steps right away.

1. Start with immediate human contact. Don’t email, don’t text. Pick up the phone and talk to the person as a person not an investor. “I heard what happened, and I’m here to help you. How are you doing?” When advisors reached out this way, two-thirds of clients rated the contact as extremely valuable to them.

2. Help with decision-making. Clearly, many clients experience decision paralysis. Help them prioritize their next moves and determine what needs to happen now versus what can or should wait a while.

3. Determine the client’s communication preferences during the transition. When life changes in a major way, people often want to communicate in different ways than before. Simply asking how a client wants to stay in touch and interact with you will remove potential friction and signal that you’re being attentive to their evolving needs.

Personalize by client persona

From there, your guidance will depend in part on the type of client-in-transition in front of you.

Is the client feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable? Be proactive with your communication. Lead with emotional support before any financial discussion. Establish a structured cooling-off period before major capital decisions—framed as discipline, not delay.

Is the client emotionally connected/holistic? These investors approach transitions as whole-life events of great importance and prefer to delegate professional coordination to an advisory team. Be their quarterback by bringing in specialists proactively and coordinating the team.

Is the client self-directed and pragmatic? These are your confident and organized clients who experience little decision paralysis or regrets, and prefer to coordinate their own team. With them, the focus will tilt toward you doing clean, technically excellent work and being responsive and efficient as they navigate the event.

Ultimately, your response to your clients’ big life events has the potential to boost satisfaction and loyalty more than just about any other move you make. Be ready to be there for clients when they need you most.

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