BOSTON—Global financial wealth surged to a record $305 trillion in 2024, propelled by an 8.1% rise in financial assets amid strong equity market performance. Yet beneath this headline growth, the industry’s underlying engine, namely organic expansion, needs renewed strategic focus.
New proprietary analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reveals that just 28% of wealth manager asset growth over the past decade came from existing advisors, falling to 22% in mature markets. Instead, firms leaned heavily on external levers such as M&A, market performance, and advisor recruitment—all of which can no longer be relied on to increase revenue.
“What defines winners today is no longer exposure to market performance or the ability to poach senior bankers, but their ability to grow from within,” said Michael Kahlich , managing director and partner at BCG. “Firms that deliberately invest in advisor enablement, brand identity, and next-gen client strategies are outperforming peers—not just in revenue, but also in valuation multiples.”
These are among the key findings of BCG’s Global Wealth Report 2025: Rethinking the Rules for Growth:
- Asia-Pacific is poised to lead wealth creation, with projected financial wealth growth of 9% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2029—outpacing North America (4%) and Western Europe (5%).
- Cross-border wealth surged by 8.7%, reaching $14.4 trillion in 2024. This is an acceleration over the prior four-year average annual growth of 6.3%, given increasing demand for geographic diversification and safe havens. Singapore (11.9% growth) and the UAE (11.1%) emerged as standout booking centers, with Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore expected to absorb two-thirds of all new cross-border wealth by 2029.
- Wealth management assets under management (AuM) expanded by 13% in 2024, significantly faster than overall financial wealth (8.1%), yet revenue growth lagged at 7.1%, as many firms saw falling margins on the back of a changing rate environment.
- Universal banks outpaced pure-plays in organic growth, generating 32% of their AuM growth from existing advisors—double that of pure-play firms (15%) benefitting from structural advantages in lead generation.
- Firms are starting to deploy GenAI for prospecting, with some early movers reporting fivefold increases in lead generation and a doubling of conversion rates. Meanwhile, those integrating data-driven client retention systems saw up to 15% increases in product revenue and 20–30% boosts in productivity.
Strategic Imperatives
The report identifies four high-impact levers for firms looking to elevate their organic growth engines:
- Brand Differentiation: Building trust and relevance through clear identity and messaging while strengthening digital marketing
- GenAI-Driven Client Acquisition: Using agentic AI to identify high-potential prospects, build comprehensive profiles, and enable highly personal outreaches
- Data-Driven Recommendation Systems: By integrating data across all business lines, wealth managers can build a comprehensive view full of signals about what a client might need next.
- Next-Gen Client Engagement: Personalizing the client journey for younger investors with digital-native expectations
“The rules of the game are shifting. Firms that embrace AI-enabled prospecting, personalized onboarding, and digital tools that boost productivity will be the ones to capture the next wave of growth,” said Daniel Kessler , managing director and senior partner at BCG and co-author of the report. “Wealth is being created globally, but the challenge for wealth managers will be to capture it.”
Download a copy of the report here.
Media Contacts:
Eric Gregoire
+1 617 850 3783
gregoire.eric@bcg.com