By 2030, as much as half of today’s private banking advisers will be retired. At the same time, over US$85 trillion will change hands globally as baby boomers pass wealth to younger generations (Cerulli Associates, 2024).

Either of these shifts alone would transform the industry. Together with the rise of artificial intelligence, hailed in some quarters as a savior and in others as a threat, they put the sector at a crossroads.

At our recent community workshop with senior bankers from Switzerland, Germany, and Liechtenstein, participants shared candid views of what this means on the ground. Their voices cut through the glossy reports and revealed the contradictions, hesitations, and opportunities facing wealth managers today.

AI in banking: promise meets distrust

When surveyed, participants were clear about where AI can help most: compliance, KYC, and research. These are data-heavy, rules-driven processes that demand automation. One banker was direct:

“Compliance and KYC are where I see the biggest potential. It is where huge datasets overwhelm us today.”

Yet adoption remains halting:

“After three bad prompts, people stop using it. Training staff is harder than implementing the tool.”

This reflects broader industry findings. Recent data from BCG shows that only 25% of institutions have embedded AI into strategic playbooks, while 75% remain stuck in siloed pilots—highlighting that the roadblock is not the technology, but its adoption, governance, and integration (BCG, 2025). And while banks hesitate, clients are moving ahead.

“The real risk is the client uses AI at home and comes better prepared than the adviser.”

That warning has teeth. A 2024 Experian survey (Kiplinger, 2024) found that nearly half of consumers now use AI chatbots for financial purposes at least once a month. Trust in the results is still limited — only about one-third say they rely on the output — but the tools are advancing fast. The risk is clear: some clients may soon walk into meetings armed with insights their advisers can not match.

The great wealth transfer: yield vs. loyalty

In a live poll conducted during our workshop, bankers pegged the upcoming transfer at US$80–90 trillion. But more revealing was the shift in expectations:

“For long-term things like real estate, I still want the trusted banker around the corner. But I do not know if the next generation will see it that way.”

Younger clients are more pragmatic and yield-focused, and bankers put it bluntly:

“Young people will go where they get yield. Revolut pays 2% daily on euros — no Swiss bank offers that.”

And the consequences are significant. UBS’s Global Family Office Report (2024) found that only 53% of super-wealthy families have a formal estate plan, despite the scale of the transfer (Barron’s, 2024).

EY estimates that US$2–3 trillion will be transferred to inheritors in 2024 alone, and warns that 42% of ultra-high-net-worth families still lack comprehensive succession plans (EY, 2024). Unless incumbents adapt, those assets may increasingly flow to fintechs and neo-banks before traditional institutions can react.

The silent crisis: adviser succession

Perhaps most urgent: adviser retirement. In our poll, banks flagged 20–50% of advisers retiring in the next 5–10 years.

The risk is not just staff turnover—it is the loss of entire client relationships. EY’s Global Wealth Research Report 2025 found that 50% of investors feel unprepared for the transfer of wealth, and nearly half believe their investment needs are more complex than two years ago (EY, 2025). Advisers often wait too long to start conversations, leaving clients exposed.

As one participant put it:

“We need to capture and transfer knowledge systematically. Otherwise, it leaves with the adviser.”

Suggested solutions ranged from better CRMs to tandem mentoring, but none fully addressed the cultural challenge of transferring trust to the next generation.

Three tensions defining the next decade

• AI helps automate compliance, but clients do not value compliance alone. Banks must enhance client experience to stay relevant.
• Younger clients want yield and digital-first engagement, while banks still trade on personal relationships. Loyalty is slipping where yields lag.
• Adviser retirements are accelerating, but succession planning remains weak. Without structured knowledge transfer, client relationships risk falling through the cracks.

A provocation, not a conclusion

Most commentary on AI and the wealth transfer paints an optimistic picture. What our participants voiced was more sobering. They see opportunity, but also inertia, contradiction and risk.

If banks hesitate, the market will not. Neo-banks are already capturing younger clients. AI is reshaping expectations in real time. One banker warned:

“If we keep debating while others are building, the assets could leave Europe before we have even agreed on the rules.”

The trillion-dollar question for wealth managers is whether they can bridge the gaps—between compliance and client, between yield and loyalty, between retiring advisers and digital heirs—before the transfer is complete.

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