High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals are faced with rising levels of uncertainty, with political upheaval and economic turmoil impacting their lives and finances. That’s why the Spear’s Wealth Management Indices remain an indispensable tool for the world’s wealthiest, and the private client providers who service them.
[Explore the complete Spear’s Wealth Management Indices 2024 on Spears500.com]
In some respects, markets have never been more frenetic, with the runaway growth of the ‘magnificent seven’ technology stocks on the S&P 500 obscuring some otherwise mediocre returns on other stock exchanges.
Politics, too, is in overdrive: nearly half (49 per cent) of the world’s population is estimated to be eligible to vote in national elections this year – whether that’s a rubber-stamp poll in Russia or the first presidential ‘rematch’ in US politics since the 1950s.
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The likelihood of a Labour government in the UK is bringing further uncertainty to HNWs: the Party’s electoral manifesto looks set to target the non-dom tax regime (even more harshly than the Conservatives’ proposed crackdown) while other policies remain opaque.
In such times, HNWs rely even more on experienced advisers with first-hand experience of navigating periods of economic turmoil, and who understand how to hedge against political uncertainties.
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Along with a sensitive ear and a personable style, the best wealth managers also take full advantage of a wide support network of private client advisers. It’s therefore no surprise that UHNWs dealing with multi-faceted affairs often turn to seasoned wealth planners with a bursting contacts book of in-house and external advisers, or those who have the statistics to back up their investment approaches.
Such qualities have been recently exemplified by Schroders’ family office services team (stewarded by Clare Anderson, Charlotte Filsell and Samuel Bosanquet), and Ross Elder of Lincoln Private Investment Office, who took home our gongs for Family Office Services Provider of the Year and HNW Wealth Manager of the Year at the Spear’s Awards in November.
Explore the Spear’s Wealth Management Indices
- Best UHNW Wealth Managers 2024
- Best HNW Wealth Managers 2024
- Best Wealth Managers: Jersey
- Best Wealth Managers: Guernsey
- Best Wealth Managers: Hong Kong
- Best Wealth Managers: Liechtenstein
- Best Wealth Managers: Luxembourg
- Best Wealth Managers: Singapore
- Best Wealth Managers: Switzerland
How the wealth management landscape is changing in 2024
Rather like the HNWs and UHNWs they serve, wealth managers are also facing a year of unprecedented change. These are the major trends shaping the Spear’s Wealth Management Indices 2024.
The next-gen has arrived
For one thing, the ‘end client’ is changing. According to UBS, more billionaires were created last year through family inheritance than through their own entrepreneurial activities, underscoring the need for wealth managers who understand the importance of timely succession planning and are prepared to engage with ‘Gen-Z’ clients.
[See also: Why the Great Wealth Transfer will be a dangerous time for global capitalism]
Yet according to PwC’s Global Family Business Survey 2023, more than four in ten families reported they do not have clearly defined expectations for family members. Even more troublingly, PwC found that more than a quarter (27 per cent) report low trust between the incumbent generation and the rising generation in their families.
It’s therefore crucial that advisers play a leading role in spearheading these tricky conversations with their multi-generational clients.
Changing investment preferences
Younger generations also have different ideas around how their funds should be spent. According to Campden Wealth’s Investing for Global Impact report, released last year, the number of HNW respondents who said they wanted to demonstrate that their family wealth could be used as a force for good rose by 50 per cent in just one year.
[See also: Private markets: should individual investors take the plunge?]
Increasingly, the best investment opportunities are to be found in private markets – with the vast majority of US companies generating annual revenues in excess of $250 million now held privately, according to Blackstone. Yet until recently, UHNWs lacked access to private markets, with ‘feeder funds’ previously only made available by the largest private banks. Over the past half-decade more wealthy families than ever have been able to take advantage of open-ended funds to access private equity deals, allowing them to benefit from further diversification in their asset allocations.
More regulation than ever
In the UK, the regulatory environment for wealth managers is also becoming tighter. In July 2023, the FCA implemented its new long-awaited ‘consumer duty’ framework, compelling all wealth management firms in the UK to audit their policies and procedures to ensure they are offering ‘fair value’ for clients, and that they can demonstrate ‘good outcomes’ to the regulator. According to research from financial advice firm Quilter, nearly half (44 per cent) of financial advisers believe their profitability will decrease as they make efforts to comply with the new rules.
[See also: The challenge of ‘consumer duty’]
Andrew Chatterton, managing director of Franklyn Financial Management and an appointed representative of St James’s Place, tells Spear’s he believes ‘the penny hasn’t fully dropped across the board yet’. ‘I think there will be lots of businesses that have to change their operations. For some, there might be less bespoke advice — they will find ways to deliver it at lower costs,’ he says.
Tax changes are also set to affect wealth managers. As well as inevitable changes to the non-dom regime, it remains to be seen how a Labour Party victory later in the year could affect the City of London as a centre for private equity deals, if the rules around carried interest are reformed.
Methodology
In selecting and ranking wealth managers, the Spear’s Research Unit conducts extensive research of the market, including interviews with well-informed observers, industry insiders and of course the advisers themselves. These take place both face-to-face, and on video and telephone calls. Candidates for inclusion are asked to fill in a form to provide data and a description of their work and client base. In finalising its selections and rankings, the Spear’s Research Unit employs a proprietary methodology that includes a weighted scoring system. This takes into account factors including an adviser’s standing, reputation, client base, recommendations and testimonials, the firm they represent, their level of engagement with the process and certain industry-specific criteria.
As the Spear’s 500 continues to evolve, it’s now easier than ever for international UHNWs to find expert advice using our ‘find an adviser’ tool. For the second year, advisers from different regions are listed and ranked together, then separated out into their own indices for greater clarity. HNWs and UHNWs can easily access wealth specialists working across Jersey, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland – and can also filter advisers based on their individual specialisms and Spear’s ranking.
Find out more
To explore all the Spear’s indices, and to use our find-an-adviser tool to identify the private client adviser who is right for your specific requirements, go to the Spear’s 500 website.
To receive relevant research updates from Spear’s – and thereby give you and your firm the best chance of being included in future Spear’s indices – please register here. If you are an adviser featured in an index and would like to update your profile or provide additional information, please email research@spearswms.com. If you are not featured but would like to be, please fill out our form.
