The trend: Nearly half of wealth managers serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) offered concierge and lifestyle services last year, up from 35% in 2024, according to a Cerulli study cited by The Wall Street Journal. Firms focused on ultra HNWIs (UHNWIs) are even more likely to offer such services.

Zoom out: As we highlight in our September 2025 report Winning the Great Wealth Transfer in Wealth Management, more than $100 trillion will transfer by 2048 to US heirs, nearly all of whom will be Gen Xers, millennials, or Gen Zers. Two tactics for retaining those heirs—digital platforms integrated with advisory services and access to nontraditional assets—will quickly become commodities.

With the wealthiest consumers, institutions must address fundamentally different needs and wants versus the rest of the population. Valued concierge services may include travel planning, bill payments, property management, and prenuptial planning. The more services that wealth managers and private banks can offer, the stickier they become.

Implications for wealth managers and private banks: Alternative assets trading is a hot area of focus for private banks and wealth managers targeting younger, wealthy investors, as seen in offerings from PNC and to some extent Morgan Stanley. But they should not neglect the ultra high-touch human services that would be difficult to replace.

To fend off the nontraditional competitors encroaching on their turf, HNWI and UHNWI wealth managers must retain and deepen their core strengths. Chasing broad market trends risks diluting their greatest value proposition of personal service, plus falling behind upstart competitors and more niche peers. In the age of digital investments, in-person services may be advisors’ best bet for surviving and thriving.