US leads global millionaire surge as HNWI wealth hits record $98.3T, but traditional wealth management firms are under pressure

The United States added more new millionaires than any other country in 2025 as global high-net-worth individual wealth climbed to a record $98.3 trillion, the largest single-year increase since 2018.

But the wealth management industry is quietly hemorrhaging assets to rivals as clients grow increasingly dissatisfied with standardized service and limited product access, according to Capgemini's World Wealth Report 2026.

It found that HNWI wealth grew 8.7% over the year, up sharply from 4.2% in 2024, with the global millionaire population expanding by nearly 2 million to 25.3 million individuals. Strong equity markets, fueled by AI-linked rallies and easing inflation, drove gains across most major regions.

North America posted 9.9% wealth growth, with the US adding 736,000 new millionaires (more than any other single market) to reach an HNWI population of 8.7 million. US HNWI wealth grew 10% and the population rose 9.2%.

However, Asia-Pacific led all regions with 10.5% wealth growth and a 9.4% rise in population, as semiconductor demand boosted regional stock markets. Japan added 436,000 millionaires over the year and China added 154,000.

Europe rebounded strongly after a difficult 2024, recording 8% wealth growth and a 6.5% rise in population. Germany registered 11.1% population growth, while France and the UK posted gains of 2.7% and 2.6% respectively. The Middle East was the sole region to contract, with HNWI wealth declining 1.5% as lower oil prices squeezed fiscal revenues and regional conflict weighed on Gulf economies.

Outpacing other segments

Ultra-HNWIs, defined as those with $30 million or more in investable assets, outpaced every other wealth segment for the second consecutive year, posting 9.7% wealth growth and a 9.4% rise in population.

The top 1% of HNWIs now account for 34.8% of total HNWI wealth. Their advantage stems partly from greater exposure to private equity, hedge funds, and other alternatives that remain largely inaccessible to lower wealth tiers.

HNWIs adjusted their portfolios in response to the market environment, lifting equity allocations three percentage points to 25% and pushing fixed income to 20% as bond markets delivered their strongest returns since 2020.

In the US the shift was sharper, with equity allocations climbing from 22% in January 2025 to 27% in January 2026, while cash holdings dropped from 28% to 23% as short-term yields became less attractive.

Alternative investments slipped three points to 12% globally, compressed by faster appreciation in public equities rather than any pullback in demand — two in three HNWIs still say they intend to increase their private equity exposure.

Despite the headline wealth figures, the report identifies a deepening structural problem at traditional firms. Between 2022 and 2025, a conservative estimate of $1.5 trillion in new assets under advice flowed to competitors rather than to established wealth managers, as clients spread their relationships across a growing roster of providers.

"In our 30 years of tracking global wealth, 2025 represents an exceptional moment for the size of the world's population of high-net worth individuals and the assets they control," said Kartik Ramakrishnan, CEO of Capgemini's financial services business. "HNWIs now have access to more asset classes across markets, along with greater options in terms of advisors and expertise. For the industry, this is a clear inflection point: between 2022 and 2025, an estimated USD 1.5 trillion in new assets flowed to competitors of traditional firms."

Shifting preferences

In 2019, 39% of HNWIs worked with a single firm for their wealth management needs, but by 2025 that figure had fallen to 19%, marking a 50% decline in exclusive relationships, while the proportion working with four to six firms doubled to 25%.

The fragmentation is even more pronounced in the US, where exclusive relationships collapsed from 55% to just 14% over the same period (a 75% decline) while the proportion of US HNWIs working with four to six firms surged from 7% to 27%, a 305% increase.

A full 90% of US HNWIs say they work with multiple firms specifically to gain better access to alternative investments, above the already-high global average of 88%. Some 64% want exposure to niche solutions such as private markets hedge funds, and 54% consider access to cryptocurrency and digital assets an important factor when selecting a firm.

Meanwhile, a survey of 144 wealth management executives found that 97% of traditional firms still segment clients primarily by assets under management, failing to capture the behavioral signals that define how wealthy individuals actually engage.

In the US that figure reaches 100%, with 67% of US firms also relying on traditional risk profiles that cannot capture the behavioral nuances shaping how clients engage.

More than 60% of executives globally acknowledge their firm lacks a unified client view, resulting in fragmented processes and duplicated effort; a figure that rises to 73% among US executives. Only 17% of HNWIs worldwide describe their advisory experience as seamless and tailored to their individual situation, while 42% say they have had to restate their goals and preferences multiple times to the same firm.

In the US the experience gap is wider still. Just 12% of US HNWIs describe their experience as seamless and personalized, while 47% have had to restate their objectives multiple times to the same firm.

Relationship managers shoulder much of the operational burden. In the US, 42% of advisor time is currently consumed by operational tasks. Three quarters of US advisors want AI-enabled systems to automate that routine work, and 66% want access to an integrated ecosystem of specialists spanning both financial and non-financial services (above the global figures of 41% and 61% respectively). The report estimates that AI-driven capabilities could free approximately 50% of operational RM time, redirecting it toward client engagement and coordination.

When firms do get the client experience right, the commercial returns are measurable. When relationship managers effectively coordinate specialist teams, 53% of HNWIs globally recommend their firm to others, and 47% consolidate more of their assets with that provider. Among US clients specifically, 37% recommend their firm when their advisor orchestrates specialists effectively, and 43% would consolidate more wealth with a provider offering integrated specialist access.

What needs to change?

Capgemini argues that closing the gap requires three interconnected changes to the operating model.

First, firms must broaden access to alternative investments and extend services into tax, estate, and retirement planning. Second, relationship managers must shift from execution toward orchestration, coordinating specialists across disciplines rather than handling requests directly. Third, augmented intelligence (AI that sharpens rather than replaces human judgment) needs to be embedded as the foundational layer across every client interaction.

The report presents a phased roadmap for this transformation, moving through three time horizons:

• In the near term, firms should unify client data and deploy AI tools to enable proactive advisor engagement.
• In the medium term, the focus shifts to embedding alternatives as a core portfolio capability and repositioning lead advisors as experience orchestrators.
• At full maturity, the model delivers autonomous portfolio construction, AI-enabled estate and tax planning integrated into client journeys, and firm-wide institutional knowledge that endures across advisor transitions and client generations.

Ramakrishnan framed the challenge as one requiring decisive action: "Clients, including younger HNWIs benefiting from wealth transfers, are seeking more: greater product access, deeper personalization, and advice that truly reflects their lifestyle. Firms that can deliver this at scale, powered by AI-enabled insights and capabilities, will define the next era of wealth management."