The news: PNC has launched Premier Client, an integrated banking and investing service for emerging- and mass-affluent consumers. The latter group typically hold $100,000–$1 million in liquid assets, while emerging affluent consumers are more loosely defined as those with high wealth potential.
How it works: PNC Premier Client blends digital banking and brokerage services with financial advice and priority service in a play for households with over $100,000 in assets. This augments the bank’s plan to use branches to pursue retail deposits: PNC said last year that it would open more than 300 new or renovated branches by 2030.
Zoom out: Banks are catching on to the need for tiered wealth management and offering products and services that meet the needs of both high-income consumers and the truly wealthy. Self-directed brokerage and advisor-guided investing are frequently combined for retail investors. But as consumers’ wealth grows, so does the complexity of their financial needs and the depth of the client-advisor relationship.
Implications for banks: The emerging-affluent segment sits between mass-market and mass-affluent consumers, with assets that could grow to warrant full wealth management relationships.
But unlike today’s wealthy clients, emerging-affluent consumers are financially cautious: They’re concerned about the cost of living and economic stability, and a minority expect to be financially better off in the next year. Banks should therefore tailor a mix of self-service and human advice to address their near-term concerns while building toward long-term wealth milestones.