The next generation of investors is already here

The Next Generation of Investors Is Already Here – The Industry Is Not

The wealth management industry is facing a structural shift.
Not because markets have fundamentally change, but because investors have.

The CFA Institute’s recent study “Next-Gen Investors: A Guide for Wealth Managers and Financial Advisers” makes one thing clear: Demand for advice has not declined. It has evolved.

More than 90% of Gen Z and millennial investors already use some form of professional financial advice. But what they expect from that advice is fundamentally different.

What has changed is the definition of advice itself.2026 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Survey

Young investors are not looking to delegate: they want to participate.
Advice is no longer perceived as outsourcing decisions, but as a collaborative process. Access, transparency, and involvement are key.

Trust has been redefined as well.

Where previous generations built trust through relationships and cost transparency, younger investors define trust functionally:
benchmark-relative performance, data security, and verifiable expertise matter most.

Reputation alone is no longer sufficient.

At the same time, product demand is shifting.

Younger investors think broader.
Digital assets, private markets, and thematic strategies are increasingly part of the conversation. Most notably, more than 90% consider it important that their portfolios align with their personal values.

Investing is no longer just about returns, it is also about expression.

And the information landscape has fragmented.

Social media, apps, and AI tools have decentralized financial knowledge.
Yet despite this shift, human advisers remain the most trusted source.

Their role, however, is changing:
from information provider to curator.

What does this mean in practice?

The study highlights a key insight:
The industry does not have a demand problem: it has an adaptation problem.

Future winners will be those who successfully combine:

• Technology and human insight (AI + HI)
• Personalization over standardization
• Risk management with clear orientation in complex markets

Or put differently:

The next generation expects the best of both worlds:
digital efficiency and human judgment.

That is where the new competitive edge will be built.