Mass Affluent Momentum: Are You Ready to Scale Hybrid Advice?

The story points to an inflection point in the wealth management business model. With more wealth being created, and increasingly concentrated among the discerning mass affluent, firms must rethink who they serve and how they deliver value at scale.

From exclusive advice to scalable engagement

Historically, the economics of advice have made it difficult to profitably serve clients below the HNW threshold. But again, this is changing.

Advanced digital tools, including real-time data, omnichannel platforms, and modular architecture, are enabling wealth managers to deliver personalized advice at scale – the key to serving the mass affluent and emerging HNW segments efficiently.

Wealth managers are certainly taking notice, with 70% of executives citing digital channels and client engagement tools as their top IT spending priority through 2028.[6] However, research also shows that most firms still struggle with segmentation, with fewer than one-third delivering fully tailored solutions to discrete client groups.[7]

These insights, combined with our own observations, point to a clear opportunity: those who master digital personalization at scale will be best placed to capture new wealth business. As such, it’s encouraging to see wealth management firms investing in digital transformation.

Broadly speaking, wealth management technology budgets are expected to grow by 5.6% in 2025 and 5.9% in 2026, respectively versus 2024, with APAC and LATAM reporting the strongest growth. Three trends are driving this, according to Celent’s report:[8,9]

• Rapid growth of the mass affluent segment.
• Rising customer expectations shaped by digital experiences.
• Intensifying competition from consumer-focused fintechs.

Digital channels are “clearly a high-investment, high-growth priority for wealth managers to respond to these trends,” Celent says.

Modernizing for the mass affluent  

Strong relationships and bespoke service will, of course, always matter in wealth management – particularly when serving ultra-high-net-worth clients. But this “exclusivity” alone is no longer enough. To attract and retain next-gen investors, wealth mangers must be able to empower advisors and engage with investors at scale.

We see the following capabilities as critical for success:

Personalized client engagement

• Real-time, data-rich tools for advisors to deliver tailored advice.
• Personalized views and contextual content for clients to enhance trust and relevance.
• Secure collaboration features for interactive, advisor-client communication.

Seamless, omnichannel digital experiences

• Self-service tools for real-time portfolio control.
• Consistent, high-quality engagement across web, mobile, and branch.
• Real-time portfolio insights for informed decision-making.

Future-ready, flexible architecture

• Cloud-agnostic, API-driven technology architecture for easy integration.
• Modular micro-apps and low-code/no-code customization for rapid innovation.
• Hybrid advisory models that combine digital self-service with human expertise.

The wealth management industry is at a turning point, driven by technological advancements and demographic shifts, among other factors. And with the right technology approach and mindset, wealth managers have an opportunity to unlock new growth avenues.

Discover how Temenos can help you scale advice, digitalize engagement, and capitalize on the mass affluent opportunity – while positioning for growth across the wealth spectrum.