Landing an ultra-high-net-worth client — those with $30 million or more in assets — is the finance industry equivalent of reeling in a giant squid.

UHNW clients are, as the name suggests, often worth more to advisors, so courting them has become all the more important as firms try to stand out in an increasingly competitive RIA landscape. These clients control an outsized portion of the total investable wealth in the US, and they can generate fees that keep an entire advisory team running. According to a recent Cerulli report, the advisor-managed high-net-worth industry will surpass $30 trillion in assets under management by 2028 amid the ongoing Great Wealth Transfer. While cultivating trust with the ultra-wealthy works the same as with any client, advisors should be prepared to answer different, and sometimes deeper, questions, according to experts on a panel at the annual Future Proof conference in Huntington Beach, California.

“No longer is it just, ‘Can I retire? Can I send my children to college?’” said Tara Popernick, head of wealth planning at LPL. “[With UHNW clients], it’s much more philosophical: ‘Can I have my legacy sustained? Who’s going to steward my wealth?’ Questions of that nature, where intimacy has to be a lot higher.”

Upping the Service Ante

As firms offer more and more services — an average of 12 in 2024, up from 10 in 2017, per the Cerulli report — the fight for UHNW investors grows fiercer, with firms feeling pressure to become one-stop-shops. And high-net-worth clients, those with between $3 million and $25 million, are increasingly expecting services similar to those provided to their UHNW counterparts. Most important is a well-integrated wealth planning solution, said Popernick. Also of particular interest to this demographic are tax planning, access to private markets and alternatives. But there’s variation within the UHNW group, said Tobias Donath, head of go-to-market and strategy at Fidelity. “There’s people who are wealthy enough to pass on a little bit, and then there’s people who are truly generationally wealthy,” he said. “They don’t just see it in the simple silo of talking about investments, talking about estate planning. They’re looking to cut across all of the different capabilities you have.”

A recent Investments & Wealth Institute report found that, among surveyed UHNW clients:

• 61% sought health insurance advice, but only 25% of them were receiving it.
• 81% wanted access to trust services, but only 31% had access to it.
• 84% wanted wealth transfer advice, but just 35% of them were receiving it.

Intimacy Coordination. Also vital to garnering new UHNW clients — and keeping their kids on as clients — is creating a sense of intimacy, said Donath. “Intimacy is something that can be as simple as the way you ask a question,” he said. “If you stick with very transactional questions, very surface-level questions, it becomes really hard … Whereas, if you can ask these piercing questions about what this means to you, how it fits with your values — trust can come really quickly.”

There is no “I” in “team.” But there are plenty in “public-private investments.”

As access to and demand for alternatives continues to ramp up, Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price are joining forces. The high-powered Wall Street investment bank plans to invest up to $1 billion in T. Rowe stock with the intention of acquiring up to 3.5% of shares, the firms announced last week. Through the new partnership, the two companies will offer mass affluent and high-net-worth clients wealth and retirement products that have access to private markets.

The team-up marks the latest collaboration between Wall Street giants in public-private investments and comes after T. Rowe experienced multiple years of outflows while Goldman’s retail ventures have floundered. “It’s a bit of a shotgun wedding,” said Jake Miller, co-founder of private markets platform Opto Investments. “Goldman may find a $1 billion investment far cheaper than building out this distribution directly and organically.”

Keep it Private

Under the partnership, Goldman and T. Rowe will offer target-date strategies, model portfolios, multi-asset products and a platform for advisors with managed retirement accounts, all of which will have access to private markets.

Private markets have traditionally been exclusive to high-net-worth clients and institutional investors due to the higher costs of entry and potentially greater risk. However, asset managers see plenty of opportunity in the mass affluent and retail investor space where access to alternatives is increasing, especially with the Trump administration’s moves to get private assets in 401(k)s.

On the path to private market dominance, many asset managers have teamed with a travel buddy or two:

• Blackstone, Vanguard and Wellington partnered for an interval fund that invests in public equities, bonds and private markets, in an effort to capture more retail investors.
• Capital Group and KKR teamed up to launch two public-private credit funds, specifically targeting retail investors.
• State Street and Apollo also launched two private credit ETFs this year.

Time Horizons. Miller said demand for private assets is growing somewhat among retail investors, and alternatives can have a meaningful place in 401(k)s, thanks to the accounts’ long time horizons and tax advantages. However, he argued many of the partnerships we’re seeing today aren’t delivering exactly what the average plan participant is looking for.

“[Paticipants] barely utilize the options available to them — 68% sit in the default target date fund — so the idea that they are clamoring for complex, semi-liquid investments is a bit absurd,” he told Advisor Upside.

Today’s young financial advisors are lost. If only they had a map or a guide.

Many next-gen planners feel adrift in their roles, uncertain of career paths, skill development goals or their managers’ succession plans, according to a recent study from consultancy DeVoe & Co. With plenty of older advisors nearing retirement and talent already scarce, firms risk losing their competitive edge if they fail to support the next generation.

“Clients feel it first,” said CEO David DeVoe. “Service weakens, leadership gaps grow and growth stalls. Neglecting people strategy is the fastest path to decline.”

It’s All Fuzzy

The study shows next-gen advisors crave clarity most of all. Their top requests include defined career paths, transparency around equity opportunities and stronger coaching. But despite the expertise and institutional knowledge at their fingertips, firms are falling short. Fewer than 40% of training programs are considered adequate. About half are only lightly structured, while the rest lack organization altogether. Succession planning is improving, yet nearly two-thirds of firms say their next-gen talent isn’t ready to take over. Pay is another sore spot. Incentive compensation plans across the industry earned a net promoter score of -31, a strikingly poor rating.

“What’s different now is transparency,” DeVoe told Advisor Upside. “Next-gen expects clarity and structure, not vague promises.”

Even when younger advisors are progressing, they may not realize it. Just under half of RIAs offer annual reviews, which DeVoe calls “the bare minimum.” Semi-annual reviews occur at only 22% of firms, and quarterly reviews at 17%, both lower than in previous years. “Too many leaders treat reviews as paperwork instead of coaching,” DeVoe said.

Where’d You Go? For several years, RIAs enjoyed low turnover, but 2025 has reversed the trend. This year, 58% of firms reported no undesired attrition, down from 68% in 2024. Meanwhile, 9% reported much higher attrition, up from 2% the prior year.

DeVoe said the industry’s recent focus on growth and mergers has sidelined advisor development. “Without talent, those strategies don’t stick,” he said. “People are the engine behind every other priority.”