Next-Gen Investors: A Guide for Wealth Managers and Financial Advisers

Gen Z and millennial investors are reshaping wealth management as trillions of dollars transfer to younger generations through the Great Wealth Transfer. These digitally fluent, values-driven clients expect advice that blends technology-enabled personalization with human judgment. Wealth managers who adapt communication, services, and product offerings to this hybrid model will be best positioned to serve the next generation of clients.

The Great Wealth Transfer is shifting trillions of dollars to Gen Z and millennial investors over the next quarter century, reshaping how financial advice is delivered as younger generations come to control an unprecedented share of global wealth. These investors tend to be digitally fluent, highly engaged, and more likely than prior cohorts to express preferences related to personal values. Their expectations for advice, communication, and product choice differ in significant ways from the clients that the current wealth management industry was built to serve.

This report examines what that shift means for the future of financial advice. The goal is to inform wealth management professionals and investment advisers about the implications of the Great Wealth Transfer for the provision of advisory services, thereby enabling these professionals to deliver greater value and more customized solutions to current and prospective clients. By reading this report, professionals in private wealth will gain a better understanding of the future client landscape, which can guide their strategy and business model development.

Drawing on survey data from more than 2,400 mass affluent (MA), high-net-worth (HNW), and very-high-net-worth (VHNW) investors across six major wealth markets (Canada, India, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States), this report explores how young investors behave when making investment decisions, the products and platforms they trust, and the new role that advisers can play in appealing to these clients. The findings show that although the desire for advice remains strong, the ways in which young investors seek that advice, as well as the inputs shaping their decisions, are both changing.

A Hybrid Model of Advice

The report reveals that “Young investors expect a model of advice that blends technology-enabled personalization with human judgment, integrates holistic and life-centered financial planning, prioritizes collaboration over delegation,” and includes behavioral guidance to help manage emotional decision making. Their preference for frequent, digitally facilitated communication and their openness to emerging products and innovations further signal a shift toward advisory relationships that are more proactive, transparent, and technologically sophisticated.

Trust Redefined Through Performance and Transparency

Young investors continue to prioritize ethical and trustworthy advisers, but the survey results suggest they increasingly evaluate trust through functional and measurable criteria (e.g., data security, outperforming benchmarks, and credentials) more than through interpersonal rapport. They seek advisers who demonstrate expertise, provide quantifiable results, and integrate technology seamlessly.

A Collaborative and Empowering Relationship

At the same time, these clients want empowerment and relatability. They prefer advisers who respect their desire for autonomy, reflect their values and backgrounds, and offer the knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions. The adviser–client relationship is thus growing into a more holistic, collaborative, and educational partnership delivered through flexible, on-demand, and modular advice formats.

Need for Advice Is Triggered by Life Events

Financial advice for young generations must also align with life events and purpose. Life milestones, such as buying a home, changing careers, starting a family, or receiving an inheritance, often motivate individuals to seek financial advice.

“Right-time” Moments Drive Engagement

According to the survey, two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials who have financial advisers began those relationships after such “right-time” events, and more than half without advisers expect a similar catalyst.

An Opportunity to Demonstrate Relevance

Appealing to new clients will require advisers to demonstrate value and expertise during key life events that bring financial goals clearly into focus.

Portfolios Reflect Goals and Values

Currently, young investors’ portfolios often incorporate both their goals and values. They are more likely than older cohorts to hold cryptocurrencies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and investment real estate in their portfolios, and they also show strong demand for customized or niche investments not widely available to retail segments, such as private equity, private credit, and sustainability-oriented investments.

Values-based Investing Is Becoming Mainstream

More than 90% of Gen Z and millennial investors surveyed say it is important to align their investment portfolio with their personal values, and 43% express interest in values-based or impact investments. For many, aligning portfolios with environmental or social priorities is not only a unique preference but also an expectation of modern investing.

Decision Making Is Digital, Diverse, and Behavioral

Information sources have diversified. Gen Z and millennials learn about finance through advisers, apps, social media and, increasingly, AI tools. About one-third have already used generative AI for financial education. Yet human advisers remain the most trusted source of guidance. The opportunity lies in meeting these clients where they are — online and mobile-friendly platforms — while helping them navigate and verify the growing flood of digital information.

Behaviorally, young investors display both confidence and vulnerability. “Many admit to making investments driven by fear of missing out (FOMO), especially in trending assets such as crypto.” Overconfidence in their ability to interpret markets is common. Advisers can add the most value by coaching clients through volatility, emphasizing investment discipline, and grounding decisions in long-term goals rather than online momentum.

Scale Communication Through Technology

Technology is also reshaping adviser–client communication. Young investors expect regular, responsive engagement through the same tools they use elsewhere in life (e.g., video calls, texts, and messaging apps). According to this survey, nearly 70% of Gen Z and millennial investors who engage a paid financial professional interact with their adviser at least monthly, and this frequency is even higher among HNW and VHNW (referred to here as HNW+) young investors.

Deliver Personalization at Scale

To meet these expectations, firms will need scalable digital communication, potentially supported by AI technologies that help personalize contact and manage volume while freeing professionals to focus on higher-level strategy and modern relationship building.

Expand the Scope of Advice

The implications are clear: Wealth management and advisory services must evolve from an interpersonal-driven model to one that can scale personalization while preserving trust. Advisers who expand beyond investment management to offer holistic planning and education will be best positioned to serve these young generations. This shift does not mean accommodating every client request; rather, it reflects new ways of meeting the fiduciary responsibility to understand client needs and objectives in order to guide them toward sustainable outcomes and long-term success. This report provides essential context and considerations so that advisers will be more prepared to meet the expectations of their future client base.

The rise of millennial and Gen Z investors marks the next chapter in global wealth. These investors are confident, connected, and values driven. They seek advisers who provide frequent and consistent support during key moments in their financial journey. Those professionals who understand and adapt to young investors’ wants and needs today will shape the future of investment advice tomorrow.

The following are important findings from our analysis of the survey results.

• Financial advice demand remains strong: More than 90% of Gen Z and millennial investors surveyed report using some form of financial advice, including traditional advisers, robo-advisers, accountants, or lawyers. Gen Z investors are still early in their investment journey, however, often beginning through workplace plans or robo-advisers. This represents a prime opportunity for advisers to capture clients as they accumulate greater wealth and transition to full-service relationships.
• Innovation and evolving market trends influence young investors’ perception: Marked by their openness toward emerging products, technologies, and asset classes, young investors display a drive for continual learning and proactive discussions, as well as a desire for advisers who understand and can contextualize new developments. Staying informed about emerging asset classes, fintech developments, and macro trends enables advisers to provide updated guidance that can reinforce the adviser’s role as a strategic, forward-looking partner who balances innovation with prudent advice.
• Robo-advisers are complementary, not competitors: Young investors’ relatively high adoption of digital advice tools (43% for Gen Z, 41% for millennials) highlights the potential for hybrid advisory models that integrate automation with human insight. Opportunities exist for traditional wealth management firms to integrate robo-advisory services into their business models or to partner with robo-advisory firms to provide clients with access to low-cost products, allowing human advisers to focus on more complex and potentially higher-value advisory services.
• Values shape investment preferences: Around 92% of young investors consider personal values important in investment decisions, and 43% express active interest in values-driven or impact investments. Environmental, social, and innovation themes are especially influential among HNW and VHNW young investors, pointing to continued demand for sustainability-oriented and thematic portfolios.
• Trust is enhanced through performance measures and data security: Although “trustworthy and ethical” remains the top adviser trait, young clients define trust through measurable behavior, professional competence, and digital integrity. They value transparency in conflicts of interest, credentials, and secure data handling alongside traditional considerations, such as empathy and cost clarity.
• Decision making is decentralized, but advisers remain the most trusted source: Young investors learn from a wide range of online sources, including social media, “finfluencers,” AI tools, apps, and digital platforms. Despite this broad ecosystem, human advisers remain the single most trusted source of investment guidance. The role of the adviser is shifting from gatekeeper of information to curator, validator, and translator of an overwhelming digital landscape.

Despite the challenging client acquisition and retention landscape, advisers have multiple avenues to demonstrate their value to both current and prospective young investors. Here are five ways advisers can increase their appeal to the next generation of investors:

• Offer holistic, life-centered financial planning. Continue to expand the advisory offering, through internal skill development or partnerships, beyond portfolio management to include budgeting, insurance, education, philanthropy, tax and estate planning, and family financial discussions. Gen Z and millennial investors want advisers who can connect financial strategy with life purpose, career growth, and long-term resilience. Structuring teams or service tiers around personalized solutions for these broader life needs can differentiate advisers from pure investment platforms.
• Build behavioral coaching into the advisory process. Address emotional drivers and cognitive dissonance — particularly FOMO and overconfidence — through structured behavioral interventions. Advisers can use behavioral insights to coach clients toward disciplined, goal-aligned decision making rather than reactive trading.
• Redesign communication models for high-frequency engagement. Young investors expect “always on” access to their advisers and the markets. Advisers should consider automation, chatbots, and personalized digital touchpoints to sustain regular contact between in-person meetings. Offer short, digestible updates, interactive dashboards, and real-time portfolio insights to match the cadence of young investors’ engagement habits.
• Blend artificial intelligence with human insight (AI + HI). Harness the capabilities of new technology and AI tools to enhance advisory workflows and provide personalization at scale across investment recommendations and client communications. Pair these digital efficiencies with human insight and contextual understanding to serve as trusted curators in an increasingly crowded and competitive age of digital information.
• Continuously adapt to new trends and product innovations. Stay informed about emerging asset classes, fintech innovations, and broader macro trends to inform how new opportunities could resonate and potentially fit with the goals and expectations of current and prospective clients. Proactive client discussions not only mitigate FOMO-driven decision making but also underscore the role of advisers as forward-thinking strategic partners, capable of balancing innovation with prudent guidance.