Next-Generation Wealth ClientsNext-Generation Wealth Clients

Key takeaways

• Relationships formed with heirs before the handover are far more likely to survive it.
• Heirs expect strong digital tools but still choose a firm through a person.
• Family governance support builds a relationship with both generations at once.

What problem was the client trying to solve?

A private bank came to us with a next-generation strategy that had been written, approved and launched. It included a digital platform, a programme of events for younger family members and a set of messages about sustainability and alternatives. What it did not include was any evidence from the heirs themselves.

The bank’s concern was concrete. A large share of its assets would change hands within a decade, and industry experience suggests that many heirs move the money when they inherit it. The bank needed to know whether its strategy reflected what the heirs actually want, or what the bank assumed they want. Not a generational trend report. A readiness score for the bank’s own relationships.

Why is next-generation wealth client readiness difficult to research?

Every firm has a next-generation strategy; very few have tested it with the people it is meant to retain.

Heirs are hard to reach

They are often not clients yet, and the bank’s relationship is with their parents.

Age-matched samples are not heirs

People of the same age who happen to be wealthy do not face the same family dynamics.

Assumptions are confident and untested

Digital-first, sustainability-led and alternatives-hungry may describe some heirs and miss others.

The relationship belongs to the parent

How heirs see the bank is shaped by how their parents use it.

What did the research set out to answer?

The objective: Measure what the next generation of the bank’s client families expects from a wealth manager, how far the bank’s current proposition meets that, and where the gap is widest - before the handover turns assumptions into outflows.

• Reach the actual heirs. Sample named heirs of current relationships, with consent, alongside next-generation prospects.
• Rank what matters. Use MaxDiff on advisor selection, human versus digital, alternatives, sustainability and family governance.
• Compare heirs and parents. Use matched dyads to see where the generations agree and differ.
• Capture the language. Use interviews to hear how heirs describe a good advisor relationship.
• Score readiness. Benchmark the bank’s current messaging against heir priorities.

How did Amber & Bull research next-generation wealth client readiness?

This study was delivered as our Next-Gen Readiness Study, a wealth management industry solution within Custom Research, supported by Client & Segmentation and Communications & Marketing; the human-versus-digital module drew on The AI Trust Ladder. It covers the Spark, Aspiration and Selection stages of the Decision Arc.

Families verified on investable assets; heirs recruited through relationship managers with consent.

Phase 1: Recruitment Through Relationships

Worked with relationship managers to invite heirs and parents, with consent and discretion.

Phase 2: Heir Interviews

36 interviews on expectations of advice, technology and family.

Phase 3: Quantitative Field

420 heir and 120 parent completes across five markets.

Phase 4: Readiness Scoring

A readiness score by market and family profile, benchmarked against current messaging.

What did the study recommend?

Four recommendations came out of the study.

• Meet the heirs before the handover, not at it - Relationships formed early are far more likely to survive the transfer.
• Offer the human, enabled by digital - Heirs expect strong digital tools but still choose the firm through a person.
• Make family governance a service - Help families plan the handover together; it builds a relationship with both generations.
• Test sustainability and alternatives messaging segment by segment - Heirs are not one audience; the messages that work differ by family profile.

Why does this approach work?

Next-generation strategies are often built on what a generation is supposed to want. Asking the actual heirs of a firm’s own relationships - and comparing their answers with their parents’ - turns assumption into evidence.

It also gives relationship managers something rare: a reason to start the conversation with the next generation now, while the relationship is still the firm’s to keep.

Frequently asked questions

Why research named heirs instead of young wealthy people generally?

Age-matched samples do not share the family dynamics, existing relationships or inheritance timing of a firm’s actual heirs. Only the heirs of current relationships can show whether those relationships will survive the transfer.

What is Next-Gen Readiness Study?

The Next-Gen Readiness Study is an Amber & Bull custom study that measures what heirs and emerging wealth holders expect from a wealth manager, sampled from the firm’s own client families, and scores the firm’s readiness for the wealth transfer.

Who took part in this study?

The study covered 420 next-generation completes · 120 matched parent completes · 36 depth interviews across United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, UAE. Respondents verified on investable assets rather than income: HNW (USD 1M–30M) and UHNW (USD 30M+), with affluent where stated. Named heirs (aged 25–45) of current client relationships, next-generation prospects, and a matched cell of their parents.