More than $84 trillion is expected to change hands over the next two decades. For wealth managers, the opportunity is enormous, but so is the risk.
Research from Cerulli Associates suggests that more than 85% of inheritors do not retain their parents’ bank or financial adviser. That means the transfer of wealth is also a transfer of choice. The next generation is not simply inheriting a portfolio. It is deciding who will help manage their financial future.
For banks and wealth managers, that should change the conversation.
The next generation is changing the expectations of banking relationships and wealth management
Younger investors have different expectations around access, transparency, personalization, and technology. They are accustomed to financial experiences that are connected, intuitive, and available on demand.
HSBC’s 2026 research found that 73% of affluent and high-net-worth investors use AI for finance and investment, while 62% cite financial professionals and institutions as their main source of investment ideas.
The message is clear: technology is changing how clients engage with financial services, but it is not replacing the need for trusted advice.
The opportunity is to combine both.
Wealth managers that can deliver personalized advice through seamless digital experiences will be better positioned to build relationships with the next generation. Those that continue to rely on fragmented systems, disconnected platforms, and manual processes risk making it easier for clients to look elsewhere.
Connectivity will become a competitive advantage
The next generation of clients will expect their financial lives to be connected.
They will want to see their assets, accounts, cash flow, investments, and financial obligations in one place. They will expect their bank and wealth manager to understand their broader financial picture and provide advice that reflects it.
That requires more than a strong investment platform. It requires connectivity across the financial ecosystem.
Open Banking and API-driven connectivity can help wealth managers bring together data from multiple financial institutions, accounting platforms, payment providers, and other financial services. This creates a more complete view of the client and enables more personalized, timely, and relevant advice.
It also creates opportunities to expand the relationship beyond traditional portfolio management.
For example, a wealth manager that can connect to a client’s broader financial ecosystem may be better positioned to support:
• Cash-flow visibility across multiple accounts and institutions
• More informed investment and liquidity decisions
• Personalized financial planning based on a complete financial picture
• Faster, more connected client experiences
• New services and revenue opportunities beyond traditional asset management
The institutions that succeed will be those that make wealth management feel less like a collection of disconnected services and more like a financial command center.
Turning connectivity into a competitive advantage
The challenge is that delivering this experience requires more than adding another API or integrating another platform. It requires connections across a complex ecosystem of financial institutions, custodians, accounting platforms, and third-party providers—while managing security, consent, data quality, and ongoing changes.
That is where Ninth Wave and its Managed Services can help.
Ninth Wave provides a single point of integration for financial connectivity, helping financial institutions connect to the platforms and services their clients need without taking on the full complexity of managing those connections themselves.
Ninth Wave’s AI-powered integration and management software helps accelerate connectivity across vendors, while its Managed Services approach can provide ongoing support for the operational demands that come with maintaining those integrations. Essentially, Ninth Wave can handle every aspect of keeping these vital connections running smoothly for wealth management organizations, relieving them of this operational burden, and the customer experience.
For wealth managers, that can mean a more practical path to delivering the connected experiences clients increasingly expect, without having to build and maintain every connection internally.
The opportunity is not simply to connect more systems. It is to make better use of the data and relationships those connections enable.
The relationship is the real asset
The Great Wealth Transfer is not simply an opportunity to acquire more assets under management. It is an opportunity to build relationships with the people who will control those assets for decades to come.
The institutions that win will not necessarily be the ones with the most products. They will be the ones that make it easiest for clients to understand, manage, and act on their financial lives, which increasingly involve tapping into each customer’s ecosystem of financial service providers.
The $84 trillion transfer is coming. The question is whether wealth managers are prepared to manage the assets—or the relationships that come with them.
And for those looking to turn connectivity into a competitive advantage, the opportunity is already here.
Learn more about Ninth Wave’s Managed Services.
For a full overview of Ninth Wave’s managed services tiers, including Core Product Support, Enhanced Managed Services, and Enterprise Managed Services, visit the Ninth Wave Managed Services page.