The Modern Wealth Management Leader

We are amidst the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history.

The wealth management industry is expected to grow near $230 trillion globally by 2030, intensifying competition and innovation to attain greater scale. This wealth transfer has had significant impact on a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Moreover, these stakeholders must now navigate strategic challenges spanning economic uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and the availability of talent/skills.

Organizations at the forefront of leadership and transformation are those orientating their culture and organizational structure towards enabling and engendering modern leadership characteristics.

We define modern wealth management leader as an individual who’s innovative in mindset, bold in driving change, and possess the social acuity to bring others along.

To further bring this to life, we explore:

• Existing wealth leaders display modern leadership characteristics
• When considering strategic partnerships, understand how wealth leaders differ from other financial services leaders
• Digital differentiation is key for a new generation of leaders

While we believe the future of wealth management looks promising, the present landscape does not offer a clear path to success. To ensure that they do not get left behind some of their more progressive rivals, wealth managers need to not only develop their digital capabilities, but also empower their bench of talent to culturally, organizationally, and technologically capitalize on the opportunities ahead. Those that succeed will do so by enriching existing talent, cultivating a culture and organizational structure for success, and optimizing strategic partnerships to unlock competitive advantages for market share growth. They need modern leadership.

Authors

Megan Bowen is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Wealth Management and Banking & Lending Practices. She is based in New York.

Laetitia Jerabek is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Wealth Management and Banking & Lending Practices. She is based in London.

Erin Marie Collins is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Executive Assessment and Development Practices. She is based in Melbourne.

James Baek is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Financial Services knowledge team. He is based in New York.

Cem Turan leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ Financial Services knowledge team. He is based in London.