The global wealth management market reached $4.7 trillion last year and is projected to expand to $17.6 trillion by 2032. These growth projections coincide with a decisive shift in client behavior, where 62% of investors now prefer to handle account servicing online. At the same time, planning costs and compliance obligations continue to evolve, shaping how firms build and deliver their strategies.
Key Takeaways
- 3.4% CAGR projected for the global wealth management market from 2024 to 2032
- $4.7 trillion global wealth management market size in 2023
- $17.6 trillion global wealth management market size by 2032
- 62% of investors prefer to complete account servicing activities online rather than by contacting a representative
- 59% of UK adults used online banking in the past week (drives digital wealth account access)
- 60% of HNW investors used digital channels to research investment products in 2023 (survey)
- Top 1% of US wealth holders own 26.6% of total wealth (2022)
- Mean annual fee charged by wealth management robo/managed accounts averaged 0.50% in 2023 (industry benchmarks)
- Average client retention in wealth management was 88% in 2023 (reported benchmark)
- SEC Rule 206(4)-1 (Investment Advisers Act compliance rule) requires advisers to adopt policies and procedures with a reasonable level of detail
- SEC Form ADV Part 2B must be delivered to clients/ prospective clients for registered investment advisers
- The EU MiFID II requires firms to provide costs and charges disclosures under Article 24
- US mutual fund median expense ratio was 0.44% in 2023 (cost burden metric)
- US ETF median expense ratio was 0.22% in 2023
- In 2023, average account management fees for robo-advisors ranged from 0.25% to 0.50% (benchmark)
The global wealth management market is forecast to reach $17.6 trillion by 2032 as digital demand and regulation reshape planning.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size13 stats
01
3.4% CAGR projected for the global wealth management market from 2024 to 2032
02
$4.7 trillion global wealth management market size in 2023
03
$17.6 trillion global wealth management market size by 2032
04
1.2% of global GDP is estimated to be invested in private wealth management services (as of 2022)
05
$1.3 trillion expected market size for the global family office services market by 2032
06
Family office services market size of $0.6 trillion in 2023
07
Japan household financial assets were ¥2,000 trillion in 2023 (Bank of Japan household sector statistics)
08
Global discretionary wealth management AUM by top firms grew to $11.8 trillion in 2023
09
World Wealth Report 2024 estimates global financial wealth was $144.0 trillion in 2023
10
World Wealth Report 2024 estimates global investable assets were $100.3 trillion in 2023
11
Global wealth management market reached $4.7 trillion in 2023
12
Number of financial advisers (US) was 252,000 in 2023 (BLS occupational employment for personal financial advisors)
13
US occupational employment (personal financial advisors) is 286,030 (May 2023)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With the global wealth management market set to grow from $4.7 trillion in 2023 to $17.6 trillion by 2032 at a 3.4% CAGR, and discretionary wealth management AUM hitting $11.8 trillion in 2023, the sector is clearly in a long-term expansion phase driven by rising private wealth needs.
02 · Category
User Adoption8 stats
01
62% of investors prefer to complete account servicing activities online rather than by contacting a representative
02
59% of UK adults used online banking in the past week (drives digital wealth account access)
03
60% of HNW investors used digital channels to research investment products in 2023 (survey)
04
38% of HNW investors opened at least one new account digitally (2023 behavior in survey)
05
46% of adults in the US have created an advance directive or living will (important for estate planning adoption)
06
35% of US adults have a will (survey)
07
27% of US adults report having a trust (survey)
08
37% of Australians reported having a will (survey)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With 62% of investors favoring online servicing and 60% of HNW investors using digital channels to research products in 2023, the data shows wealth planning is moving decisively toward digital adoption, even as estate planning coverage remains uneven at 35% of US adults having a will and only 27% reporting a trust.
03 · Category
Performance Metrics15 stats
01
Top 1% of US wealth holders own 26.6% of total wealth (2022)
02
Mean annual fee charged by wealth management robo/managed accounts averaged 0.50% in 2023 (industry benchmarks)
03
Average client retention in wealth management was 88% in 2023 (reported benchmark)
04
S&P 500 median return over rolling 10-year periods was 12.0% nominal (benchmarking wealth returns)
05
US household debt service ratio was 7.0% in 2023 (impacts disposable income for planning)
06
US savings rate averaged 4.5% in 2023 (affects contribution capacity for wealth planning)
07
Inflation averaged 4.1% in 2023 (planning assumptions impact)
08
NASDAQ Composite annual total return was 54.2% in 2023 (wealth performance backdrop)
09
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index returned -1.2% in 2023 (wealth allocation performance backdrop)
10
US 3-month Treasury yield averaged 5.2% in 2023 (risk-free rate assumption for planning)
11
US 10-year Treasury yield averaged 3.7% in 2023
12
S&P 500 price return in 2023 was 24.2% (market performance metric used in planning projections)
13
Average trading cost (implementation shortfall) averaged 40 bps for institutional investors (study benchmark)
14
US mutual fund average expense ratio was 0.44% in 2023 (performance cost metric)
15
US ETF average expense ratio was 0.22% in 2023
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
With the top 1% holding 26.6% of total wealth and typical wealth management fees staying around 0.50% while returns faced a mixed backdrop, including a 54.2% NASDAQ gain and a -1.2% bond year, the biggest takeaway is that clients are concentrating wealth and charging relatively modest management costs even as markets deliver highly uneven performance.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
SEC Rule 206(4)-1 (Investment Advisers Act compliance rule) requires advisers to adopt policies and procedures with a reasonable level of detail
02
SEC Form ADV Part 2B must be delivered to clients/ prospective clients for registered investment advisers
03
The EU MiFID II requires firms to provide costs and charges disclosures under Article 24
04
FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership filing deadlines drove BO reporting for many entities by 2024-01-01
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across SEC and EU regimes, firms are tightening client disclosure and compliance expectations, with four major rules driving documentation and reporting from SEC Form ADV Part 2B delivery to MiFID II costs disclosures and Beneficial Ownership filings, many of which were pushed to meet the 2024-01-01 deadline.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis13 stats
01
US mutual fund median expense ratio was 0.44% in 2023 (cost burden metric)
02
US ETF median expense ratio was 0.22% in 2023
03
In 2023, average account management fees for robo-advisors ranged from 0.25% to 0.50% (benchmark)
04
Implementation shortfall averaged 40 bps for institutional orders (transaction cost benchmark)
05
$3.1 billion global regtech market size in 2023 (compliance technology spending proxy)
06
$25.6 billion global regtech market size by 2032 (compliance technology spending proxy)
07
$250 million average cost of data breaches in financial services in 2023 (industry benchmark)
08
Financial sector average time to identify data breach was 279 days (2023 benchmark)
09
Financial sector average time to contain a data breach was 82 days (2023 benchmark)
10
Average charge for trust administration services ranged from $250to $2,000 per year (US market benchmark)
11
Estate planning attorney fees ranged from $1,000to $5,000 for basic will packages in 2023 (market benchmark)
12
Average probate attorney fees in the US were around 3% to 5% of estate value (market benchmark)
13
Cloud spending: global public cloud services revenue reached $679.6 billion in 2024 (drives wealth-planning IT costs)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Even as mutual funds stay relatively costly at a 0.44% median expense ratio and ETFs at 0.22%, the fastest-growing pressure on wealth planning operations is technology and risk, with the global regtech market rising from $3.1 billion in 2023 to a projected $25.6 billion by 2032 while financial services still take 279 days to identify data breaches.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Wealth Planning Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wealth-planning-industry-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Wealth Planning Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/wealth-planning-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Wealth Planning Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wealth-planning-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
36 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)