Top 10 wealth trends

Date: 07 May 2025

Karen Jones

Top 10 wealth trends with Robert Kitchen – CEO, Brown Shipley

What is your assessment of the current global political landscape and its impact on wealth management strategies?

Global Political Shifts and Their Impact on Wealth Management

We now live in a more multi-polar world, characterised by increasingly pronounced differences across regions. The key investment implication for wealth managers is that providing exposure to a wider set of asset classes can help improve returns and mitigate risks. For example, if there’s a wobble in the equity portion of the portfolio due to potentially higher inflation triggered by tariffs, other parts of the portfolio – such as gold, commodities and inflation-protected bonds – could nevertheless potentially benefit, mitigating any overall impact. The emphasis on diversification also of course holds true from a geographic perspective. 

In your opinion, how have recent policy shifts in major economies like the US, EU, China affected the long-term stability of private wealth?

Policy Changes in Major Economies: What They Mean for Private Wealth

Current policy trends generally reflect the multi-polar world in which we live. That can create market volatility and anxiety for private wealth clients, whilst also offering opportunities by shifting the relative value of different asset classes.

Amidst ongoing volatility, we build portfolios designed to meet client return and risk objectives over the medium term via a globally diversified strategy that includes a range of risk mitigators and more tactical tilts to anticipate market developments.

As we continue to navigate uncertainty in global markets, how are wealth managers adjusting their strategies to preserve and grow clients’ wealth?

Strategic Portfolio Adjustments in Volatile Markets

We have been active in adjusting strategy and portfolio positioning in three ways.

First, we continued to diversify our equity exposure away from the US and into more attractively valued markets such as Europe and the UK, tactically shifting into Europe because of catalysts such as extra spending on defence and infrastructure and into the UK because of its defensive characteristics. We continue to believe US equities remain a compelling asset class, but valuations are currently demanding, so we are not overweight.

Second, while equities are designed to capture growth, we have a higher than normal exposure to short-dated gilts to mitigate downside risks, should they arise, while we are less exposed than normal to US Treasuries, given high debt levels and a wide budget deficit.

Third, and in general, we prefer high-quality corporate bonds to riskier bonds whose valuations are not attractive given current risks.

How important is diversification in a post-pandemic world, and which asset classes are your clients focusing on?

Diversification Strategies in the Post-Pandemic Era

Diversification remains a key pillar and is increasingly important. At Brown Shipley, both at the longer strategic horizon and more tactically, we are more diversified than ever.

Rather than ‘timing the market’, we believe that ‘time in the market’ is a more effective strategy. We are focusing on a wider range of asset classes, in general preferring international diversification rather than overweighting the US but also staying true to our philosophy of global investing across stocks, bonds and commodities. Apart from liquid asset classes, private markets hold increasing appeal as does thematic investing.

Sustainable investing has gained traction over the past few years. How are you seeing it affect the portfolios of high-net-worth individuals, and is this trend sustainable?

The Rise of ESG and Sustainable Investing Among HNWIs

Over the past decade, we have seen a notable increase in the appetite for sustainable investing among HNWIs, driven by a desire to align investments with personal values and a growing recognition of the long-term benefits of sustainable practices. At the same time, the outlook for ESG investing has changed since 2022 – when the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a significant spike in oil prices – and to some extent following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

It’s important to put shorter-term trends in perspective. Millennials, in particular, look with increasing concern at the world they are inheriting. It’s therefore no surprise that they are putting their money into ESG investments at much higher rates than the average investor. In the context of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, we therefore expect this trend to accelerate. 

What are the emerging risks and opportunities that wealth managers should be most aware of?

Navigating Risks and Finding Opportunities in 2024

The key opportunity today is to support our clients with enhanced communication and personalised advice, which is central to our relationship-based approach.

We have been expanding our coverage model with clients to ensure active engagement on a regular basis whilst developing a range of additional investment solutions that clients may access for strategic purposes. That includes, in particular, thematic investing, socially responsible investing and access to private markets, further leveraging our scale and capabilities through our partnership with BlackRock.

How have the needs and expectations of private clients evolved in recent months? Are there any new priorities or concerns they are expressing?

Evolving Priorities of Private Clients

We are seeing an increased focus on inheritance tax and future pension legislation change proposals. Clients want to better understand what this means for them practically. Additionally, clients are keener than ever to speak to us due to unprecedented government policy changes and heightened market volatility.

In what ways are clients seeking more personalized wealth management services, and how are you meeting those needs?

Delivering Personalized Wealth Management Solutions

Clients want a private bank that takes a holistic approach. They appreciate that we offer tailored solutions to meet their complex financial needs with truly bespoke lending, investment and wealth management solutions. We work with clients and their families to ensure we have a sound understanding of their long-term priorities, including succession planning and passing on wealth to the next generation.

With the rise of digital, how are private clients responding to this?

Digital Adoption Among Private Clients

Clients increasingly leverage online resources to deepen their understanding of investment options. As their trusted advisors, we recognise that clients rely on us to cut through the noise. Our ability to provide prompt commentary and feedback on emerging issues through our communication channels is invaluable to them.

Are there any new technologies or platforms that are making a significant impact on how private wealth is managed or delivered?

AI and Technology in Modern Wealth Management

Given the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence, let me respond by saying a few words about AI.

At Brown Shipley, we now work with secure AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot to enhance meeting management and draft/review certain kinds of documents. We are piloting AI in this way across a range of departments to identify various use cases and potential benefits.

Our focus right now is on building a secure, stable foundation – reflecting regulatory requirements and our own risk-management standards – so that in future, we can combine traditional machine learning and newer generative AI methods to enhance productivity and data management. This is about combining digital efficiency and highly personalised service so we can devote more time to our clients and the pursuit of their best interests.

Read more about Robert on Linkedin

See our Top private bankers

And read about Dubai

Learn about passion investing

Read about top ten sustainability trends

Read about top wealth trends from James Penny, Barclays Private Bank and James Ayling JM Finn