Demand is strong. Capturing it will require wealth managers to tackle the impending shortage of advisors.

Following several years of economic crosscurrents and fluctuating performance, the US wealth management industry is entering 2025 from a position of strength, with solid fundamentals in place. Demand for its services continues to grow as Americans become wealthier and their needs become more complex—for example, because of greater reliance on personal savings for retirement than in prior generations and the proliferation of sophisticated financial products to maximize wealth accumulation and preservation. This increasing demand is illuminated by clients’ growing willingness to pay for human-delivered advice.