By Vipul Kapur, Managing Director and Head of Private Banking at Mashreq

The largest wealth transfer in human history isn’t just a financial milestone – it’s a philosophical reset. The 2021 Wealth-X Family Transfer report projected that by 2030, approximately 19,038 HNWIs, in the Middle East would transfer a combined wealth of $604bn to the next generation.

A more recent version of the report, issued in 2024, revises this estimate sharply upwards, suggesting the figure will be closer to $tn.

Recipients are likely to be Millennials; global property consultant Knight Frank expects Gulf citizens and residents born between 1981 and 1996 will, along with their peers across the world, inherit some $90tn of assets, becoming the richest generation in history.

So, what will the wealthy Millennials do with their money, and will they, in turn, pass it on? We, as private bankers, would do well to assess and take note.

The Shifting Wealth Landscape

The investment priorities of today differ vastly from previous generations. Whether independently accumulated or acquired via an inheritance, wealth is no longer just a store of value, it is increasingly a means of expressing values.

Millennials are often considered to prioritise ‘doing the right thing’ – investing with purpose – and do not necessarily share the return-maximising mindset, values, and expectations of their predecessors. We also see Gen Z looking for ways to invest in alignment with cultural values and build cultural capital. Climate change isn’t just a concern; for many in this generation, it is a moral mandate. They see it as their generational responsibility to ‘fix’ what they consider having been ‘broken’ by the generation before them, to the extent of sacrificing returns to invest in causes they believe in. This drive to ‘do the right thing’ is, fundamentally, changing consumer behaviours in money management.

With governments across the GCC region promoting diversification away from oil dependence, investment opportunities in sectors such as real estate, infrastructure, and technology are increasing, with wealth growing in parallel. There are currently around 700 family offices in the region owning liquid assets exceeding $80-100bn, excluding property investments, and this number is only rising.

Globally, women are generating and managing an increasing amount of wealth – with a third of the world’s private wealth held by women, according to the Boston Consulting Group – and this trend is reflected regionally too, with Gulf countries witnessing a sharp rise in affluent women actively shaping the region’s economic future. Indeed, a NAMA Women Advancement and UN Women study highlighted that 25,000 Emirati women entrepreneurs contribute $16.3bn to the UAE economy annually.

HNWIs are not necessarily prepared for further inter-generational movement of wealth, though; research suggests only just over a quarter of such individuals have a full strategy in place to transfer their wealth downwards, while one in three indicate they have no plans in place whatsoever.

The Next-Gen Private Banking Client

Today’s private banking client is digitally native, impact-driven, and globally connected. Their preferences differ significantly from their predecessors, both in priorities and in habits.

Legacy is no longer the destination. Values are. Millennial customers appear to focus less on legacy preservation and more on personal values, prioritising ethical standards that align with these values and encompass environmental and philanthropic considerations. They actively seek purpose-driven investing, with a clear focus on ESG, sustainable finance, and ethics.

Within our sector, we see that traditional private banking relationships have fallen by the wayside. On the back of tremendous advancements in tech and innovation, today’s HNWI client expects a digital experience to rival leading digital-native companies, and an entirely new investment ecosystem featuring hybrid solutions that combine technology and innovation with human experience and expertise. Quarterly in-person meetings are relics of the past. Always-on, omnichannel experiences – including instant messaging, video calls, and online communities – are the new standard. They expect contemporary fintech solutions to be integrated into working practices and rely on personal devices to access up-to-date, secure information tailored to their individual needs. They insist on seamless digital experiences with high-touch advisory.

And they don’t just want access, they want agency. The new generations expect customisation and transparency across the entire banking product range and customer journey and require clear communication on both benefit criteria and timelines. They harbour a strong desire for financial literacy, co-creation, and control, insisting on real-time insights into their portfolios and how they align with their values.

And no longer is the private banking relationship solely finance based. For the contemporary private banking customer, advice must move beyond investment, become holistic and be delivered within the context of a client’s financial, emotional, social, and lifestyle goals. For some clients, such advice must go as far as to encompass lifestyle management besides succession planning, and education.

Opportunities for Private Bankers

This isn’t evolution, it is reinvention. For the newer generations, that might not even believe in the traditional ways banks operate in – private banks risk extinction if they fail to adapt. By identifying, exploring, and fully understanding the demands of HNWI Millennial customers and ensuring they have the solutions to meet these demands, we can maintain a position at the forefront of this evolution. Critical to this customer segment are ESG-aligned offerings such as Mashreq’s sustainable finance options, enabling clients to choose investments that align with their personal ethics and priorities.

To cater to these evolving demands, private banking needs robust digital and personal engagement model powered by sophisticated analytics, to deliver against high client expectations. Offering tech-driven personalisation is key. With a growing emphasis on tailored services and longstanding personal relationships, generative and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) hold the promise to transform private banking by enabling hyper-personalisation of services. Mashreq’s individually curated advisory services clearly demonstrate its commitment to the HNWI sector and its need for individualisation.

Leveraging advanced digital innovations such as smart contracts, distributed ledger technology, and tokenisation offers avenues to reduce friction, improve transparency, and ensure secure, efficient asset transfers.

But even in a world of automation, trust remains the ultimate currency. Although contemporary private banking relationships differ hugely from those of the past, building trust with this new, younger, generation of wealth owners remains crucial; perhaps, given the rapid advancements in technology and the need to have faith in data security, more crucial than ever before. Cultural fluency is also imperative, given the global mobility of many millennials, and a solid understanding of diverse backgrounds is key.

Looking to the Future

As private bankers, we must continue our role of trusted advisor and guide but also evolve to reflect changing priorities and needs. It is imperative for us to understand and leverage the most sophisticated technology to underpin offerings for our wealthiest clients, while maintaining the longstanding personal relationships on which private banking is built. Our sector is at a crossroads, and financial institutions that lead with innovation, education, and customer-centricity – respecting tradition while boldly innovating – will shape the future.

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.