A new report from EY's Global Center for Wealth Management argues that the wealth management industry is undergoing a structural transformation driven by artificial intelligence, the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, and a surge in self-directed investing. The analysis, based on the firm's Wealth Management Strategy Radar, distills 30 industry convictions into 10 priorities that firm leaders must address to remain competitive through 2030.
AI tops the list, with EY framing its impact through a "5E" schema: staff enablement, workflow efficiency, client experience, front office effectiveness, and guided business engineering. The report's authors, Jun Li and Olaf Toepfer, describe these as a compounding value pathway, where early productivity gains enable deeper client experience and front-office transformation before AI-guided business engineering becomes viable at scale. They urge leaders to treat AI implementation as a redesign of operating and governance models, not merely an IT project.
The second priority focuses on developing cohort-specific value propositions for affluent and lower high-net-worth clients. EY's research shows that 45% of mass affluent clients now demand financial planning services, while 29% express interest in values-based investing, compared with 23% among HNW clients. However, legacy technology and scaling constraints prevent firms from translating these signals into differentiated experiences.
Private markets growth earns a prominent place in the framework, but the emphasis is on caution. Semi-liquid structures have opened a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity within wealth channels, but Li and Toepfer warn that managing liquidity expectations is critical to client satisfaction, especially during market stress. They argue that liquidity governance must move upstream from portfolio management into suitability, mandate design, and client dialogue. For more on how advisors are navigating this shift, see BofA Survey: Wealthy Shift to Private Markets, Family Firms as $124 Trillion Transfer Gains Speed.
On pricing, EY identifies a structural disconnect between how firms charge and where clients perceive value. As regulatory scrutiny tightens and asset-based fee grids come under pressure, pricing power will migrate toward accountable advice on complex matters such as succession, tax, lending, and family governance. Hybrid pricing models, the report suggests, will become increasingly defensible.
Self-directed investing represents one of the most disruptive forces. EY forecasts that mature markets could reach an equilibrium of roughly 35% fully self-directed and 50% partially self-directed clients, driven by AI reducing barriers to going it alone. The report warns that wealth managers face a narrowing window to integrate AI into their advisory offerings before client-controlled AI mediates those relationships directly. This trend is particularly relevant given the $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer: Why Heirs Leave and How Advisors Can Retain Them.
Tax is another area of escalating strategic relevance. Clients increasingly focus on post-fee, post-FX, post-tax, and post-inflation net outcomes. EY argues that wealth managers must industrialize tax clarity at scale rather than relying on manual cross-border support models that are increasingly uneconomic.
The report also addresses the fragmented economics of global wealth management. European AUM reached a record €33 trillion in 2024, up 11.7% from 2023, but operating profit margins fell sharply in 2022 and 2023 before a modest recovery in 2024. In 2023, margins dropped to 11.1 basis points of average AUM, the lowest since the 2008 financial crisis. EY's prescription: winning firms will separate where they originate, book, and service wealth, building multi-hub franchise structures that combine local client relevance with centralized operational efficiency.
Risk and compliance also feature prominently. Li and Toepfer argue that traditional reactive models must give way to automated preventive control functions producing real-time evidence, with controls embedded directly into operating workflows. The final priority addresses AI's role as a direct client-facing advisory tool. With wealthy individuals already turning to external AI platforms for financial guidance, the report warns of a major threat of disintermediation in early stages of client journeys. Firms that build institution-controlled AI advisory engines, backed by verified financial data and connected seamlessly to human advisors, will retain mandates and deepen relevance. For insights on how advisors can build trust during the wealth transfer, see Wealth Transfer Success Hinges on Advisor-Family Trust, Not Just Asset Logistics.
Underlying all 10 priorities is the need for sharper foresight and execution discipline. Despite the pace of transformation, the report concludes that clients' fundamental needs remain unchanged: a relationship they can trust and support they can rely on at critical and complex moments.
