ROLE ADVISORY · MARCH 2026
The narrative of the
Great Wealth Transfer
is incomplete.
A new analytical framework challenges the widely held expectation that Baby Boomers will transfer $70–100 trillion in wealth to younger generations intact — and traces the fiscal consequences for schools and communities across America.
THE BOOMER ASSET MIRAGE SERIES
Two papers. One framework.
An urgent research gap.
Published February 2026 and filed as working papers on SSRN, these two papers introduce the Cohort Asset Circularity Trap and its three channels — real estate, equity, and fiscal.
I
The Boomer Asset Mirage:
A Cohort Asset Circularity Trap
The foundational paper. Argues that a substantial portion of boomer wealth is structurally overstated - because its value is partly sustained by the generation that holds it.
II
The Fiscal Fracture
Property Tax Erosion and the Municipal Consequences of the Boomer Asset Mirage
The companion paper. Extends the analysis to local government finance and public education - tracing what happens to schools and communities when boomer-held property values erode.
An independent
analytical voice.
Rowland Hanley is the Founder of ROLE Advisory. He has spent more than thirty years advising C-suite executives and boards, including senior roles at IBM, Gartner, Xerox, and other major institutions. He served as a Member and Chairman of his local School Board of Education in Connecticut from 2011 to 2018 and currently serves on the board of the Stamford Public Education Foundation. He holds an M.S. and doctoral training (ABD) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Ohio University.