Client expectations rise as wealth managers face increasing competition for assets — EY report

Client loyalty becomes more fluid as expectations rise

Client relationships are becoming increasingly dynamic. Wealthy individuals are no longer relying on a single provider, instead building portfolios of relationships tailored to different needs, from execution and investing to planning and complex advice.

This shift is reflected in rising multi-provider behavior and increasing willingness to move assets. Rather than long-term, stable mandates, client relationships are becoming more contestable — with decisions driven by the perceived quality, timeliness and relevance of advice.

At the same time, client expectations are broadening beyond investment performance alone. Clients are seeking more holistic support, including financial planning, tax, lending and intergenerational wealth advice, and they expect this to be delivered seamlessly across channels.

Firms that can respond with more proactive, personalized and outcome-focused engagement are better positioned to capture a greater share of client assets.

Jun Li, EY Global and Americas Wealth & Asset Management Leader, says:

“Client expectations are rising at a time when relationships are becoming more fluid and more competitive. Clients today are more engaged, more informed and more willing to act when they do not see clear value.

“This creates both challenge and opportunity for wealth managers. The firms that succeed will be those that can respond with advice that feels timely, relevant and grounded in the client’s full financial context — not just their portfolio.

“Technology, including AI, will play an important role in enabling this, but it is how firms apply these capabilities to deliver consistent, meaningful outcomes that will ultimately define success.”

A widening gap between capability and delivery

Despite significant investment in technology and client insight, the report finds that many firms have yet to translate capability into consistent client experience.

While segmentation and personalization strategies are widely established, they are not always reflected in how advice is delivered in practice. Proactive guidance remains limited, and differentiation across client segments often falls short of expectations.

This creates a widening gap between what firms promise and what clients experience — particularly as digital and AI-enabled tools raise the benchmark for responsiveness and relevance.

Closing this gap represents one of the most immediate opportunities for wealth managers to strengthen trust, improve retention and drive organic growth.

Advice models shift as self-direction and AI expand

The rise of self-directed investing is accelerating this shift. With nearly a third of assets already self-directed, clients are increasingly comfortable making decisions independently, supported by digital tools and AI-driven insights.

As a result, standard investment guidance is becoming more accessible and, in some cases, commoditized. The role of the advisor is evolving accordingly — with value shifting toward more complex, judgment-based areas such as financial planning, portfolio structuring and navigating market uncertainty.

AI is expected to play a central role in enabling this transition, not only by enhancing client interfaces but by becoming embedded in advisory workflows, improving decision-making, and supporting more timely, tailored client engagement.

Growth opportunities expand but require greater discipline

Beyond client behavior, the broader wealth landscape is also evolving. Private markets are expanding rapidly into wealth channels, offering new opportunities for diversification and return, with assets expected to exceed US$20 trillion by 2030.

However, the report emphasizes that capturing this opportunity requires careful management of liquidity, suitability and client expectations — particularly as a broader base of investors gains access to less liquid asset classes.

At the same time, growth across regions and client segments is becoming more uneven. Faster-growing wealth markets are creating new pools of opportunity, while mature markets require a sharper focus on productivity, conversion and deeper client engagement.

In this environment, success depends less on expanding footprint alone and more on the ability to capture and retain client demand through timely, relevant and differentiated advice.

From scale to relevance: redefining competitive advantage

Taken together, these trends mark a shift in how competitive advantage is defined in wealth management.

Scale, product breadth and brand remain important but are no longer sufficient on their own. Instead, advantage is increasingly determined by a firm’s ability to:

Translate client insight into action
Deliver consistent, personalized experiences at scale
Demonstrate clear and measurable value over time

Olaf Toepfer, EY Global Center for Wealth Management Founder and Leader, says: “This is not just a technology story — it’s an operating model shift. As advice becomes more accessible and client expectations rise, the bar is shifting from insight to execution. Firms that can consistently translate insight into timely, outcome-focused engagement will stand apart. Embedding these capabilities at scale will be critical to strengthening client primacy, defending margins and capturing future growth.”

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Methodology

This report draws on research by the EY Global Center for Wealth Management, combining insights from EY professionals and a wide range of market data sources. It analyzes wealth management developments across client segments, from emerging affluent investors to billionaires, using a framework designed to reflect differences in wealth levels and client needs across global markets.

Market sizing and trend analysis are based on a multi-source approach, incorporating data on private wealth, financial and non-financial assets, and capital flows. This includes assessments of net-new wealth, asset shifts, investment performance and cross-border holdings, supported by validation and expert assumptions where required.

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