The news: U.S. Bank and investment advisory firm Edward Jones announced co-branded checking account and credit card products, which will be distributed to Edward Jones clients through its advisors. The co-branded offering consolidates investment and banking products into a single digital experience.

How we got here: Edward Jones has focused on serving mass-affluent investors (consumers with $100,000 to $1 million in liquid assets). The partnership with U.S. Bank enables even greater retention of advisory clients and a distribution channel for the bank to reach that customer base. U.S. Bank offers wealth advisory services to a broader range of customers, including high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

According to our Mass Affluent Consumer Banking report, banks have struggled to serve the mass affluent. And amid the Great Wealth Transfer from baby boomers to their children, the missed opportunity is bound to get bigger as more money is passed down.

Some banks have caught onto the need, offering tiered wealth management services for different customer segments, per our report Winning the Great Wealth Transfer in Wealth Management. Digital-first options for self-directed brokerage and advisor-guided investing are melded with banking products and services under the same brand and digital tools. As consumers’ wealth grows, so does the relationship.

Our take: The U.S. Bank–Edward Jones partnership is just one approach that banks can take to capitalize on the Great Wealth Transfer and cross-sell between investment and retail banking products and services.

With the mass-affluent segment in mind, banks can use partnerships to attract customers they might not otherwise reach for basic banking products, like deposit accounts and credit cards. These partnerships let banks benefit from consumer spending power without incurring high additional costs.