Since many decades, Billions, even trillions, have been passed on from one generation to the next, as wealth transfer. So far, the heirs always stuck to the traditional way of investing: stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, and other “safe” options. However, the new generations, particularly X, Y, and Z, brought a new mindset and new goals that surpasses the traditional wealth management.
Gens X,Y,Z considering profit over security
Over $83 trillion is going to be transferred to the hands of the next Gens by 2048, according to the “World Wealth Report 2025”, published by Capgemini. This important amount was kept secure and reinvested carefully for decades.
While the new Gens have big plans to invest it differently, and without any prior records of “concrete” results of the new types of investment, traditional wealth managers are raising questions. Gens X,Y, and Z are willing to take more risks in order to increase their ROI and ensure better and faster growth. They believe that value creation comes with greater risks and taking the bold step to invest.
The new Gens of HNWI are prioritizing digital engagement
The new Gens of HNWI are more attracted to digital activities, which explains why they are actively choosing digital-focused investments, including High-tech projects such as AI development, Consumer Tech, and SaaS companies. Among new Gens preferred investment, we can highlight cryptocurrencies, which is a very volatile asset that can provide either significant profit or heavy loss, sometimes within few hours only, causing a big impact on HNWIs portfolios.
New Gens of HNWI are chasing meaning
In the traditional terms of investment, most of HNWI chose their portfolios allocation based on their risk appetite and their investment types preferences. However, the new era calls for new ways of defining portfolios; Generations X,Y, and Z are looking for bigger purposes and reasons to invest. Green investments, impact bonds, Tech Startups, and other sustainable investments, are among the preferred investments of the new generations, making wealth management transform to a meaningful experience, instead of a cash machine which only provides financial value.
Are wealth managers ready to face this evolution?
One of the question we all need to ask at this level is whether wealth managers will really be ready to adapt? It’s a must to consider that this shift will take years, even decades, before settling. Wealth managers design their investment portfolios based on the historical data of the market. Cryptocurrencies, for example, are recent assets that only has few years of presence in the market, and were only noticeable by the mainstream audiences since 2020, the Covid-19 era when those cryptocurrencies’ market values reached all-time-high records.
Wealth managers of all sizes must adapt to this situation, whether it’s through deep research on the trending topics or data analysis. Every firm across the globe is supposed to be ready to tailor their services to the growing needs of HNWI of the new Gens. Otherwise, losing clients will become a harsh reality.
