Gen Z and millennial investors are demanding more agility and versatility from wealth advisors and private banks in a move set to significantly shift the business practice in the industry.

This comes even as The Great Wealth Transfer is set to move a significant portion of global wealth from baby boomers to Gen Z and millennial heirs over the next two decades. 

Several analytical reports and white papers published by industry experts in recent months anticipate a global shift in the business of wealth management, as new and younger investors come into wealth with different investment priorities, demands and expectations compared to their parents.

One survey by the CFA Institute published in March found that behaviours and expectations of Gen Z and millennial investors differ from Gen X and Baby Boomer investors and this is rapidly redefining the future of private wealth management.

The survey which looked at 2,400 mass affluent, high net worth (HNW) and very high net worth individuals (VHNW) across leading economies including the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore drew interesting insights.

Analysts indicate that demand for wealth advisory and management remains robust, with nine out of ten respondents in the survey reporting to be using some form of paid financial advice. 

These investors who are digital natives expect dynamic portfolio management, financial advice that fuses the insights of tech-driven solutions and the oversight of experienced human wealth managers. 

They also lean towards product offerings and services that are in line with their values, are sensitive to ESG policies and demonstrate secure, trustworthy and ethical advisory services.

This means that even as they may be more open to mobile-based touchpoints and portfolio management augmented by Artificial Intelligence modelling for instance, they also expect a trusted human face to guide them through investment options and transparent fees and commission guidelines.   

The Knight Frank annual wealth report for 2026 similarly highlighted shifting investment priorities and patterns across the global wealthy. 

This includes changing perceptions of luxury in markets like China where young investors are not merely concerned with owning luxury brands but are further interested in experiences. Private members’ clubs, fine dining and high-end art today feature more prominently in the portfolios of the global wealthy, relative to other assets like real estate.

This presents an opportunity as well as a challenge for wealth advisors and managers. On the one hand their principal task remains maintaining and growing younger investors’ new found wealth through turbulent economic cycles.

On the other hand, the demand by this emerging clientele is expected to shift from traditional investment priorities and therefore will require agile and versatile decision-making to maintain client loyalty in what is often a very competitive industry.

I&M Capital which launched operations in the wake of the economic shocks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the firms in the region leading the industry in re-imagining and re-tooling the relationship between wealth management and an increasingly younger client demographic.   

Earlier this year I&M Capital was granted an intermediary Service Platform Provider Licence (ISPP) by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, CMA.

Aside from greatly increasing consumer touchpoints and product distribution, the ISPP license gives I&M Capital more agility to develop and roll out new solutions and services that leverage cutting edge digital platforms. 

This further augments the firm’s other solutions and services available to investors such as the I&M Capital Funds, local government securities and offshore investments (equities/ ETFs/ Mutual funds/Corporate debt/ Treasuries/sovereign bonds) 

Managing and growing investors’ wealth remains the key priority for financial advisors in an industry that is currently experiencing a paradigm shift. 

However, the demands of an increasingly younger client base, rapidly changing technology and regulatory environment means that industry leaders will need to adapt with more agility to optimise returns on their clients wealth.

(This article was first published by Business Daily)

The writer, Sameer Raja, is the Assistant General Manager – Head of Investment Advisory, at I&M Capital Limited [email protected]