The survey by the investment house sheds light on how, with up to $84 trillion of assets changing hands, the stakes are high for advisors seeking to find ways to retain business from upcoming generations.

A global survey by Natixis Investment Managers finds that Asia-Pacific advisors said that their clients are more likely to change whom they deal with than the worldwide average, suggesting the APAC region’s sector cannot afford complacency.

The firm’s Great Wealth Transfer Report, conducted by CoreData Research in February and March 2025 among 7,050 investors in 21 countries, will make uncomfortable reading for advisors estimating how to retain the children and grandchildren of their clients. In APAC, for example, 48 per cent of advisors said wealth transfer is an “existential threat to their business” and 40 per cent said they have already lost substantial assets from generation attrition. 

Baby Boomers are the most likely to have already moved, or plan to move, assets to a new advisor, and this shift is more pronounced in Asia than globally, with a finding of (71 per cent in APAC making that move, versus 66 per cent globally). Gen X and Millennial investors in APAC are almost equally likely to say they will keep their assets with the same advisor – with 43 per cent of Gen X and 40 per cent of Millennials agreeing, compared with 48 per cent of Gen X and 50 per cent of Millennials globally. (Those results show that substantial numbers are willing to change advisors or may have done so.)

The wealth management sector has been talking about “NextGen” issues for years, with the underlying reason being a desire to retain the business of rising generations at a time when tens of trillions of dollars and equivalent are in motion. Losing such business is what keeps CEOs and colleagues awake at night. This situation explains why banks have sought to foil competitive threats by introducing new, more tech-driven business models by modernising processes, promoting their brands in a more youthful way, and recruiting advisors who are, it is hoped, more in tune with what NextGens want. 

While money-management performance ranks as a top reason why APAC clients stay with an advisor (20 per cent), it has little to do with why they leave. Only 10 per cent of those surveyed say they are leaving because the advisor didn’t manage their parents’ money well. Some 75 per cent of advisors in APAC surveyed said that the best strategy for retaining wealth transfer assets is long-term relationship building with all of the family. 

The report noted that 53 per cent of individuals globally (and 48 per cent in APAC) said they have included their family in the estate planning discussion. That proportion is lower in Japan (32 per cent) and Hong Kong (34 per cent), where families may not feel comfortable discussing the mortality of their parents.

“The APAC region has seen remarkable wealth accumulation over just a few decades, and the coming great wealth transfer will be a defining inflection point for the industry,” Dora Seow, CEO, Natixis IM Singapore, said. “Younger heirs bring a different mindset – they are more tech-native, more open to alternative investments, and with distinct expectations around service and engagement. The conversations ahead must go beyond estate plans and family trusts and be tailored to the next generation’s unique outlook and preferences.” 

Changing regions, the study found that 41 per cent of US advisors said wealth transfer is an existential threat to their practice and that 47 per cent of inheritors don’t plan to keep their parents’ advisor. 

For the 21 surveyed countries as a whole, advisors estimate that they retain assets only half the time in intergenerational transfers, and investor data suggests that the outlook may be even less favourable. Just 45 per cent of investors say they plan to keep inherited assets with their benefactor’s advisor, highlighting a widening gap between advisor expectations and client intentions, the report said.

Specific interests
Unlike Baby Boomers, the interests of younger investors surveyed lean towards specific asset classes and product structures, most notably in terms of private assets, cryptocurrencies and active exchange-traded funds. 

Baby Boomers are the most conservative, with just 38 per cent saying they are willing to take risks to get ahead. (Editor’s note: Given that many of this group are retired or near retirement, risk aversion is not surprising – in fact it is what they should do.)

Among Gen X, 52 per cent said they are willing to take risks to get ahead. Some 42 per cent said that the more they read about private assets the more they want to invest. Millennials are the least conservative, with 78 per cent saying they want to try and beat the market.

The report comes from the Natixis Center For Investor Insight.