The game is changing when it comes to serving elite groups like high-net-worth (HNW) customers. Seemingly overnight, Robinhood has launched a suite of private banking capabilities and is planning to roll out an AI investment tool later this year. When this story first broke, it was called a “Kodak moment.” Tech-fueled disruptors are rewriting the rules, turning once-elite financial experiences into the mainstream. With Robinhood eyeing private banking and wealth management, legacy firms, bound by inertia, need to ask a question: how do you adapt your model to make sure you aren’t left behind?
As it often does, the answer lies in another question: in this changing landscape, do you know your customer as well as you think you do? If you’re in private banking, now is the right time to refresh your view, looking at the competitive landscape, evolving client demographics, and the ways hyper-personalized premium experiences—increasingly powered by AI today—are being crafted for HNW and UHNW segments to gauge how you will need to play in the future.
Who is today’s Private Banking customer, and what do they expect?
There has been no shortage of coverage on both the changing demographics of new HNW and UHNW populations and the great wealth transfer that’s going to occur over the coming decades. But let’s be honest: we’ve never seen this kind of wealth transfer before. During the next 20 years in the U.S., over $100T in wealth and 4 million private businesses will change hands. The beneficiaries, increasingly younger and more diverse, define the very notion of wealth differently. They expect private banks and wealth managers to manage their holistic wealth – not just financial, but also intellectual, social, and human capital. To serve them well, you need to know what that means to them, ensuring that wealth supports not just a lifestyle, but also the development and empowerment of future generations and impact.
The new generation creating or inheriting this wealth have distinct expectations:
- Personalized and hyper-contextual experiences with agency over their interactions and data allowing for real-time-anytime-anywhere access and control
- Investment decisions being informed by personal passions and principles like sustainability, philanthropy and, in many instances, sports, entertainment and other personal brand-building pursuits
- Integrated views that combine the use of traditional finance, FinTech, DeFi/Web3 and other forms of non-traditional financial services
- Transparent and optimized servicing, exceptional asset management, lending and transaction support
These preferences combine to prompt the question, what defines “best in class” or “white glove” experiences for this evolving population? This is the paradox at the heart of modern private banking and wealth management —meeting your customers’ white glove expectations requires frictionless, digital convenience without sacrificing the sense of exclusivity and personal connection that defines your business.
To find a path forward, it helps to use lateral thinking and look to an industry that has long served the same high-net-worth audience and has already been reshaped by technology: luxury goods.
How are luxury brands making it happen?
Luxury brands have mastered the delicate balance of innovation and intimacy amidst challenging headwinds. Their success lies not just in the products they sell, but in the way they foster loyalty, emotional resonance, and a sense of belonging.
After over a decade and a half of uninterrupted growth—pandemics aside—the luxury industry faced its first true contraction. Fifty million consumers tightened their grip on spending, and projected growth now hovers at a just 1-3 percent. Layer in the recent complexity of tariffs, and you have the ingredients for a fascinating shift. Prada, ever nimble, has risen 18 percent. Miu Miu—a brand once seen as secondary—has soared an astonishing 105 percent. Even LVMH, the perennial juggernaut, has not been immune to decline.
The smart players are responding with enduring, high-touch experiences for a digital-first world – and they’re leveraging AI for deeper insights that make them more meaningful for their customers. The result is a brand experience that demonstrates a renewed commitment to quality, personalized narrative, and nuance over transactional activations.
- Hermès Le Sur Mesure service allows clients to commission unique, custom-made items and Gucci provides complimentary personalization of jackets, bombers, and sneakers – when and where they want.
- Louis Vuitton’s LV Virtual Advisor leverages AI to provide tailored shopping, refine recommendations and elevate customer experiences across online and in-stores. Every interaction reflects a commitment to personalized luxury.
- Luxury whisky brand Suntory combines exclusive experiences, such as tastings, with Web3 and AI to augment and elevate those events. They believe their strategy to attract and retain the newly wealthy segment with AI-enabled personalization, exclusive status-creating physical and digital (“phygital”) engagement and the ability to share, buy and trade “digital whisky collections” will lead to greater affinity throughout their wealth journey. Luxury whisky enthusiasts would naturally purchase higher value brands within their portfolio to create a lifetime of loyalty.
What are the takeaways for Private Banking?
AI presents an opportunity to enhance—not replace—a high level of attention and personalization.
In private banking, AI can analyze behavioral patterns, anticipate client needs, and automate complex financial planning while preserving the discretion and trust inherent in human advisory relationships. This balance between cutting-edge digital tools and a deeply personal touch is critical in appealing to younger generations who expect both seamless digital self-service and access to trusted human advisors when needed.
Furthermore, it enables private banks to learn about and embrace the needs of emerging client demographics, particularly as women and next-generation heirs take control of a growing share of global wealth. Just like Hermes, LV, Gucci, and Suntory, private banks should rethink their offerings to provide tailored experiences, integrating values-based investing, philanthropy advisory, and curated lifestyle services.
Where should you start?
As you look to deepen relationships with the next generation of private banking and wealth management clients, it would be smart to take a page from the luxury playbook.
- To start, define a north star strategy that concurrently honors your legacy while also encapsulating key “phygital” differentiators that will meet evolving client demographics and expectations.
- Like luxury fashion houses, leverage technology to deeply understand the emerging generation of HNW clients and the types of hyper-personalized experiences they demand across both physical and digital touchpoints. Providing innovative products, frictionless servicing and the ability to attract, develop and retain relatable and highly skilled client-first professionals will be critical.
- To move beyond standardized portfolios and concierge services, aim to deliver a seamless blend of digital customization and high-touch advisory, ensuring each client feels uniquely valued. Consider where you can incorporate bespoke, on-demand wealth management solutions that reflect your client’s individual financial goals, investment philosophies, and lifestyle preferences.
- Define and implement holistic tech and data strategies that put AI-led experiences at the heart while taking a modular, composable, and scalable services architecture approach to modernizing core banking platforms.
A modernized approach to private banking and wealth management will include a blend of AI-driven learning and customization, high-touch service, and innovative new offerings. With a solid strategy in place and the latest technology in your corner, you will ensure you remain indispensable to an evolving and increasingly diverse clientele.
To see our latest insight report on the “The Future of Private Banking: The Race to Differentiate”, contact us.
Erin Catalina and Maria D’Albert contributed to this article.
