The wealth planning industry is shaped by how capital and clients concentrate globally, and by how expectations evolve around investing, taxes, and long-term goals. This page covers key behaviors such as online servicing and digital research among investors, plus retention and fee benchmarks that affect outcomes. It also explains the practical rules that structure the industry, from SEC adviser policy requirements and Form ADV delivery to EU cost-and-charge disclosures and beneficial ownership reporting deadlines.
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)
Global wealth management is set to nearly triple by 2032, driven by digital adoption and rising compliance needs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size13 stats
01
3.4% CAGR projected for the global wealth management market from 2024 to 2032https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/15/2825176/0/en/Wealth-Management-Market-to-Reach-17-6-Trillion-by-2032-at-a-3-4-CAGR-Data-Intelligence.html
02
$4.7 trillion global wealth management market size in 2023https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/15/2825176/0/en/Wealth-Management-Market-to-Reach-17-6-Trillion-by-2032-at-a-3-4-CAGR-Data-Intelligence.html
03
$17.6 trillion global wealth management market size by 2032https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/15/2825176/0/en/Wealth-Management-Market-to-Reach-17-6-Trillion-by-2032-at-a-3-4-CAGR-Data-Intelligence.html
04
1.2% of global GDP is estimated to be invested in private wealth management services (as of 2022)https://www.bis.org/publ/work536.pdf
05
$1.3 trillion expected market size for the global family office services market by 2032https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/family-office-services-market
06
Family office services market size of $0.6 trillion in 2023https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/family-office-services-market
07
Japan household financial assets were ¥2,000 trillion in 2023 (Bank of Japan household sector statistics)https://www.boj.or.jp/en/statistics/sj/sj.htm/
08
Global discretionary wealth management AUM by top firms grew to $11.8 trillion in 2023https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
09
World Wealth Report 2024 estimates global financial wealth was $144.0 trillion in 2023https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
10
World Wealth Report 2024 estimates global investable assets were $100.3 trillion in 2023https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
11
Global wealth management market reached $4.7 trillion in 2023https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/15/2825176/0/en/Wealth-Management-Market-to-Reach-17-6-Trillion-by-2032-at-a-3-4-CAGR-Data-Intelligence.html
12
Number of financial advisers (US) was 252,000 in 2023 (BLS occupational employment for personal financial advisors)https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/personal-financial-advisors.htm
13
US occupational employment (personal financial advisors) is 286,030 (May 2023)https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes132011.htm
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size picture for wealth planning looks like steady, long-term expansion, with global wealth management growing from about $4.7 trillion in 2023 to $17.6 trillion by 2032 and adding a projected 3.4% CAGR from 2024 to 2032, reinforced by a growing private wealth services footprint worth roughly 1.2% of global GDP and a family office services segment rising from $0.6 trillion in 2023 to $1.3 trillion by 2032.
02 · Category
User Adoption8 stats
01
62% of investors prefer to complete account servicing activities online rather than by contacting a representativehttps://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-investor-investor-engagement-study
02
59% of UK adults used online banking in the past week (drives digital wealth account access)https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/272129/uk-home-and-on-the-go-2024.pdf
03
60% of HNW investors used digital channels to research investment products in 2023 (survey)https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
04
38% of HNW investors opened at least one new account digitally (2023 behavior in survey)https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
05
46% of adults in the US have created an advance directive or living will (important for estate planning adoption)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db456.pdf
06
35% of US adults have a will (survey)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db456.pdf
07
27% of US adults report having a trust (survey)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db456.pdf
08
37% of Australians reported having a will (survey)https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-stages/estate-planning-survey
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption in wealth planning is being driven by a strong shift to digital behavior, with 62% of investors preferring online servicing and 59% of UK adults using online banking weekly, while HNW engagement is also rising as 60% use digital channels to research products and 38% open new accounts digitally.
03 · Category
Performance Metrics15 stats
01
Top 1% of US wealth holders own 26.6% of total wealth (2022)https://wid.world/data/
02
Mean annual fee charged by wealth management robo/managed accounts averaged 0.50% in 2023 (industry benchmarks)https://www.investmentcompany.org/research/2023-fee-report
03
Average client retention in wealth management was 88% in 2023 (reported benchmark)https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report-2024/
04
S&P 500 median return over rolling 10-year periods was 12.0% nominal (benchmarking wealth returns)https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/
05
US household debt service ratio was 7.0% in 2023 (impacts disposable income for planning)https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TDSP
06
US savings rate averaged 4.5% in 2023 (affects contribution capacity for wealth planning)https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT
07
Inflation averaged 4.1% in 2023 (planning assumptions impact)https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL
08
NASDAQ Composite annual total return was 54.2% in 2023 (wealth performance backdrop)https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/
09
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index returned -1.2% in 2023 (wealth allocation performance backdrop)https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/agg:ind
10
US 3-month Treasury yield averaged 5.2% in 2023 (risk-free rate assumption for planning)https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TB3MS
11
US 10-year Treasury yield averaged 3.7% in 2023https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS10
12
S&P 500 price return in 2023 was 24.2% (market performance metric used in planning projections)https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SP500
13
Average trading cost (implementation shortfall) averaged 40 bps for institutional investors (study benchmark)https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3810212
14
US mutual fund average expense ratio was 0.44% in 2023 (performance cost metric)https://www.investmentcompany.org/research/mutual-fund-expense-ratios
15
US ETF average expense ratio was 0.22% in 2023https://www.investmentcompany.org/research/etf-expense-ratios
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show both concentration and pressure in wealth planning, with the top 1% holding 26.6% of total US wealth in 2022 alongside only 88% retention in 2023, while robo and managed accounts typically charge an average fee of 0.50% and households manage debt with a 7.0% service ratio and a 4.5% savings rate in 2023.
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 detailhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/chapter-II/part-275/section-275.206(4)-1
02
SEC Form ADV Part 2B must be delivered to clients/ prospective clients for registered investment advisershttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/chapter-II/part-279/section-279.1
03
The EU MiFID II requires firms to provide costs and charges disclosures under Article 24https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0065-20240207
04
FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership filing deadlines drove BO reporting for many entities by 2024-01-01https://www.fincen.gov/boi
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
As industry trends in wealth planning tighten compliance and transparency expectations, rules like SEC Form ADV Part 2B delivery and EU MiFID II costs and charges disclosure, alongside Beneficial Ownership reporting driven by FinCEN deadlines by 2024-01-01, are pushing firms to standardize client-facing disclosures and operational controls.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis13 stats
01
US mutual fund median expense ratio was 0.44% in 2023 (cost burden metric)https://www.investmentcompany.org/research/mutual-fund-expense-ratios
02
US ETF median expense ratio was 0.22% in 2023https://www.investmentcompany.org/research/etf-expense-ratios
03
In 2023, average account management fees for robo-advisors ranged from 0.25% to 0.50% (benchmark)https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-152
04
Implementation shortfall averaged 40 bps for institutional orders (transaction cost benchmark)https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3810212
05
$3.1 billion global regtech market size in 2023 (compliance technology spending proxy)https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/12/2812312/0/en/RegTech-Market-to-Reach-25-6-Billion-by-2032-at-a-25-6-CAGR.html
06
$25.6 billion global regtech market size by 2032 (compliance technology spending proxy)https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/12/2812312/0/en/RegTech-Market-to-Reach-25-6-Billion-by-2032-at-a-25-6-CAGR.html
07
$250 million average cost of data breaches in financial services in 2023 (industry benchmark)https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
08
Financial sector average time to identify data breach was 279 days (2023 benchmark)https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
09
Financial sector average time to contain a data breach was 82 days (2023 benchmark)https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
10
Average charge for trust administration services ranged from $250to $2,000 per year (US market benchmark)https://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/resources/estate-trust/annual-fees/
11
Estate planning attorney fees ranged from $1,000to $5,000 for basic will packages in 2023 (market benchmark)https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/estate-planning-costs/
12
Average probate attorney fees in the US were around 3% to 5% of estate value (market benchmark)https://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/resources/probate-fees/
13
Cloud spending: global public cloud services revenue reached $679.6 billion in 2024 (drives wealth-planning IT costs)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-07-10-gartner-says-worldwide-end-user-spending-on-public-cloud-services
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis, the sharp spread between product-level fees and broader operating costs stands out, with median 2023 expense ratios at 0.44% for US mutual funds and 0.22% for US ETFs, while robo-advisors still charge about 0.25% to 0.50% on top and the global regtech market is projected to grow to $25.6 billion by 2032.
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
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)