Strong economic growth in 2025 was driven by resilient corporate earnings, with capital deployment into AI-focused enterprises reinforcing broader equity market strength. This climate helped propel the strongest annual expansion in high-net-worth individual (HNWI) wealth and population in five years: global HNWI wealth increased by 8.7% to reach USD 98.3 trillion, and global HNWI population followed the same trajectory, rising by 7.9% to 25.3 million individuals, by year-end 2025.1 

Beneath the wealth growth headlines, however, wealth management (WM) firms are grappling with a very significant client experience challenge. Our research reveals that only 17% of HNWIs feel their wealth advisory experience has been seamless and personalized. This challenge is rooted not in demand, but in delivery and rising HNWI expectations: 97% of WM firms still segment clients primarily by wealth bands, which limits their ability to tailor high-net-worth wealth management and experience to increasingly diverse client needs.2 

Our 30th edition of the World Wealth Report draws on findings from three primary research efforts across the wealth management industry: 

  • The 2026 Global HNWI Insights Survey questioned 6,510 high-net-worth investors across four regions – the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East – and was administered in January 2026 in collaboration with the Invent India Strategic Research team. 
  • The 2026 Global Wealth Management Executive Survey was fielded in January 2026 in collaboration with Phronesis Partners, a cross-industry global research and analytics firm. Findings are based on 144 responses across 10 markets, with representation from pure-play WM firms, universal banks, independent broker/dealer firms, family offices, asset managers with advisory services, and digital-first platforms. 
  • The 2026 Global Relationship Manager Survey, executed by Phronesis Partners, includes 1,317 responses from across 16 markets, again touching the same four regions around the globe.   

In addition, the report’s market-sizing model covers 71 countries, accounting for more than 98% of global gross national income and 99% of world stock market capitalization. 

Capgemini’s new WM report guides industry players to address the personalization challenge with urgency – and doing so requires more than incremental improvements. Our analysis identifies three interconnected pillars for operating model transformation necessary to deliver superior client experiences: 

  1. Broaden available products and services. Easy access to the desired variety of investment products is table stakes, while value-added services spanning tax, estate, and retirement planning extend relationships to encompass broad personalized financial advice and improve customer retention. 
  2. Supercharge the relationship manager (RM). Firms that support RMs with new, intelligence-driven technology platforms – ones that deliver just-in-time client insights, integrated specialist coordination, and orchestration capabilities – see measurably stronger outcomes in client satisfaction, share of wallet, and retention.  
  3. Enable an “intelligence layer.” Augmented intelligence is the underlying infrastructure that makes the other pillars operational at scale; by automating workflow orchestration, the intelligence layer converts the expanded product portfolio and specialist ecosystem into competitive advantage.

Wealth firms should commit now to an intelligence-led operating model that compounds advantage as they move ahead – one interaction, one insight, and one relationship at a time. Those that act decisively will do more than keep pace with change: they’ll shape the future of WM for HNWIs.  

Download now