Financial Services, ai-enablement, Trends & Insights
Preparing for the Great Wealth Transfer in North America
By John Rivers — On March 18, 2026
The wealth landscape is shifting across North America. A historic $124 trillion in assets is expected to change hands over the next two decades, creating one of the largest generational shifts the wealth management industry has ever seen.
This marks not only a transfer of wealth, but a transfer of expectations. The next generation of investors are digital natives who expect seamless, personalized experiences. For advisors to meet these expectations, they can no longer rely on traditional processes and generic communication.
So are firms across North America ready for the Great Wealth Transfer?
To find out, we surveyed 250 financial services leaders in collaboration with Insights for Professionals. The findings are captured in our latest report:
Are firms as prepared as they think?
Confidence is high across the industry that firms can meet the expectations of next-generation investors. But when we take a closer look at how firms engage clients, a clear execution gap begins to emerge.
44% of firms say they still struggle to deliver personalized, timely communications to clients, highlighting the gap between recognizing its importance and delivering it consistently in practice.
While most firms understand what modern engagement should look like, many are still working to deliver it consistently at scale. They’re not equipping their advisors with the content, context, and guidance they need to execute effectively when it matters most.
The full report explores where firms are making progress and where they might be overestimating their digital maturity.
What’s holding firms back from modernizing?
While investment in digital platforms and AI is accelerating across North America, 44% of leaders say legacy system integration remains a major challenge. Modernizing client engagement often means bringing together systems and tools that were never designed to work together, which many leaders say is slowing progress.
But the hurdles don’t stop there. 41% of leaders also say advisor resistance to change is a major barrier, showing that modernization is as much about changing behaviors as it is about digital transformation.
This proves that it's not enough to simply add more tools. Firms also need to ensure advisors have the support, clarity, and confidence to adopt new ways of working.
Closing this gap between tech investment and real-world adoption will be critical as firms prepare for the Great Wealth Transfer.
Is AI delivering real impact?
AI is rapidly becoming a central focus of wealth management strategies across North America.
Most firms report that AI is already playing a role in supporting advisors and improving engagement. In fact, 92% say their AI capabilities are at least moderately effective, suggesting adoption is well underway across the industry.
But adoption alone does not guarantee impact. While many firms have introduced AI into advisor workflows, connecting those capabilities to measurable business outcomes is still a work in progress.
The real question is no longer whether firms are investing in AI — but how effectively firms are using it to support advisors and deliver more personalized client experiences.
Explore where AI is already delivering value, and where there’s opportunity for growth in the full report.
Is your firm ready for the Great Wealth Transfer?
Preparing for the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history requires more than simply adopting new technology.
It requires a fundamental shift in how wealth management firms operate. The firms making the most progress are:
- Breaking down silos across teams and technologies
- Equipping advisors with AI-driven insights, training, and content
- Making it easier to deliver relevant, timely client communication
The most successful firms will take a hybrid approach, leveraging AI to drive efficiency and intelligence while keeping advisors at the center of the client experience.
To see how wealth management firms across North America are preparing for this shift — and what sets leaders apart — read the full report: