At a time when over £430 billion sits idle in UK bank accounts, the country’s wealth management industry faces a critical question: why are so many Britons over-saving and under-investing? And what does the future of wealth management look like in light of the ‘great wealth migration’, rapidly evolving technology and a mass of ‘mobile millionaires’?
At Infront’s most recent roundtable, Reshaping UK Wealth Management for Tomorrow, more than a dozen senior figures from across the sector gathered at the Gherkin to discuss the cultural, economic and technological shifts shaping client behaviour and, most importantly, how firms can rebuild trust, engagement and long-term value in this changing financial landscape.
A culture of caution
The discussion began by addressing the biggest barriers preventing Britons from mobilising their money, something the group put down to three things: culture, education and trust.
While other countries have a higher appetite for risk, like the US, or simply more of an open attitude towards finances, like Australia, Brits remain wary of risk. The participants agreed that financial literacy plays a big part in this, but this is not the sole driving force.
As one participant observed, the trend applies to even the most sophisticated investors.
“We’ve got a number of clients who are very financially literate — hedge fund managers, private markets managers — and they’re sat on a huge amount of cash as well,” they said. “So it’s something that we are seeing internally.”
There is currently a record amount of cash in money market funds — about $7.6 trillion — so the macroeconomic environment is also a factor, with huge volatility over the past five years due to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
With the option of a risk-free rate of 4%, that could prove much more appealing to clients against a potentially volatile backdrop.
Beyond the markets, British culture plays a huge role.
“We don’t talk about investments, we don’t talk about money,” said Jess Castellino, Director at Deloitte. “And until that’s shifted, I think culturally in the UK, then tapping into that sort of oversaved, underinvested is really difficult. And I do think we all play a role really in supporting that transition.”
Wealth on the move
Another defining trend in the industry is mobility. From Dubai and Milan to Zurich and Geneva, high-net-worth clients are increasingly relocating — or at least exploring life abroad. Yet many eventually return to the UK for schools, infrastructure, or family reasons.
This cross-border movement presents both a logistical challenge and a strategic opportunity. Firms authorised to advise clients across multiple jurisdictions have a major competitive edge, as others may not even be able to hop on a Zoom call with a client once they move to another jurisdiction.
While remote working has made it easier than ever to build a business or portfolio from anywhere, regulation still determines who can serve whom — and where. For wealth managers able to offer seamless advice regardless of location, globalisation isn’t a threat but a differentiator.
Trust and the advice gap
But there is still a lingering advice gap. Not only is there general uncertainty from consumers about where to put their cash when they have long term decisions to factor in, there’s political uncertainty and the lingering effects of the 2008 financial crisis have eroded trust.
According to FCA research, only 9% of adults in the UK accessed financial advice from mid-2024 to mid-2025.
“I wonder if it’s also a demographic change issue as well as the fact that I think we’re still trying to educate the market as we did, I don’t know, 20 years ago,” said Yemi Oluseun, founder of The Change Hive. “Because the current generation grew through the credit crunch crisis. So the trust in the financial services industry as a whole I think is low because the credit crunch is very fresh.”
Social media and finfluencers are filling this gap, and so far, “traditional wealth managers haven’t adopted social media very well at all and they are certainly not playing to the younger generations,” according to regional director at Hoxton Wealth Jamie McNish.
But there is room for wealth managers who are able to create a “value margin” for their customers, as Freddie Ansah, founder and financial planner at Shore Wealth, puts it. Clients are also becoming more self-sufficient, which raises the bar for advisers.
“There’s so much information out there nowadays that [consumers] can do that whole execution only by themselves and they’re looking for a bit more than just the bog standard or the laissez faire approach. They want something a little bit more personalised.”
In a world of YouTube tutorials and AI-driven tools, clients expect their advisers to provide unique insights and strategic value, not just execution. This shift is pushing wealth managers to define new ways of creating margin and differentiation, and while it may seem like a problem for the future, this is happening now. The generational wealth transfer isn’t generations away, it is already in motion.
For an industry historically built on personal trust and in-person relationships, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Social media and technology like AI could help wealth firms meet clients where they are — not just by streamlining compliance and administration, but by opening new channels of engagement and education.
While most participants agreed they are currently using AI just for recording client meetings and automating admin and compliance tasks, there is room for it to be used more extensively to improve client relations.
Looking ahead
Despite cultural inertia, regulatory constraints and shifting client expectations, the mood of the roundtable was cautiously optimistic. With the right mix of digital engagement, education and trust-building, there is a huge opportunity for the UK wealth sector to turn its £430 billion of idle savings into a catalyst for growth — both for clients and for the economy at large.