Ultra-wealthy turning to advisers for more than money

Disputes are growing inside some of the world’s wealthiest families, even as their family offices have become more structured and professionally run. Nearly three-quarters of family office professionals have seen a rise in conflicts among family members, according to Standard Chartered’s latest Global Family Office report.

This tension was a central theme at the recent PWM/FT Live Global Wealth Management Summit, where speakers explored how wealth transfer, shifting values and global mobility are changing family dynamics, and expanding the role of advisers, who must now navigate not just finances, but emotion, identity and purpose across generations.

At the heart of this upheaval is an unprecedented generational wealth transfer, with an estimated $83.5tn expected to change hands globally over the next two decades “So much is being passed down just as we’re experiencing massive social and technological change,” said Hannes Hofmann, global head of the Family Office Group at Citi Wealth. “That’s when you’d expect to see uncertainty inside families.”

Diverging expectations

Younger generations are bringing new expectations, pushing for greater transparency, sustainability and digital access. Around two-thirds of millennials and Gen Z prioritise ESG in their investments, compared with a similar proportion of older generations who remain indifferent or sceptical, according to a 2023 Stanford GSB survey. Women, set to inherit much of the wealth, are also taking on greater decision-making roles, shifting traditional power dynamics.

“It’s not just about preparing the wealth for the family, it’s also about preparing the family to handle the wealth,” said Mr Hoffman.

Yet many family offices underinvest in their education, with only 17 per cent of the average family office budget going to educating the next generation, according to Campden Wealth and Alti Tiedemann Global.

The challenge is both emotional and structural. “It’s much easier to hire investment staff than navigate family dynamics,” said Citi Wealth’s Mr Hofmann, noting that most offices the bank works with have fewer than 10 employees.

While core services such as investment management and tax and reporting remain central, only a third of family offices prioritise family unity and continuity, often due to limited resources, according to Citi’s 2025 Global Family Office Report (see chart 1). More than half of respondents cited managing family members’ expectations as their biggest challenge (see chart 2).

Education and engagement are frequently underfunded and poorly defined. “What do I need for that? What budget do I need?” said Mr Hofmann. “It’s also a bit of a minefield for staff; much easier to provide investment services than step into the emotional back and forth within the family.”

Mr Hofmann encourages families to involve younger heirs early — ideally from high school age — not only to prepare them for future responsibilities but to gauge their interest and aptitude, particularly in the case of a family business.

“You want to avoid forcing a transition that makes family members unhappy or puts people who aren’t capable into roles that create conflict,” he said. “It’s not just about preparing the wealth for the family but preparing the family for the wealth.”

Mobility and fragmentation

Many ultra-wealthy families now span continents, adding new layers of complexity to wealth planning. Citi data shows 70 per cent of non-US families have global footprints, through passports, assets, or family members living abroad. This brings legal, tax and emotional trade-offs.

“Wealth creators today have to think global,” said Mr Hofmann. “It’s very hard in this society we live in to be a change maker, to be a wealth creator, and not think beyond your country.”

But the decision to relocate is often viewed too narrowly. “They ask: should I go to Dubai or Singapore for tax? But first we need to ask: What’s the culture like? Will you like living there? And then finally, what’s the ecosystem?”

Belinda Aspinall, regional head of Global Family and Private Investment Offices at Northern Trust, warned of the personal and cultural cost of becoming a “tax nomad”.

“At some point you have to realise that you are going to have to settle somewhere and pay tax,” she said. She recalled a family where the patriarch’s constant relocations led to deep fragmentation. The children were educated in different countries, the family scattered across jurisdictions, and their shared sense of identity began to erode.

“They didn’t quite know where they belonged,” she explained. “And if you’re constantly moving, who are we? That’s a key question for preserving family unity across generations.”

Flexible governance

Governance frameworks are becoming more common in family offices, but longevity, dispersion, and emotional fatigue can undermine their effectiveness. Rigid constitutions frequently fail in practice, warned Ms Aspinall.

“Family governance is a journey, not a destination,” she said, outlining a five-step framework that includes reflection, communication, alignment, implementation, and reassessment. For some families, that reassessment is triggered by a milestone — such as the sale of an operating company — that forces questions about identity and purpose.

Family councils and philanthropic initiatives can help bridge generational gaps, but only when supported by adaptable structures and emotionally intelligent advisers.

Another source of tension lies in digital expectations. Many family offices still rely on paper records and static spreadsheets, out of step with younger heirs who expect real-time access and transparency. “They’re far more tech-savvy and expect more from us,” said Ms Aspinall, noting increased demand for digital access to trust documents and investment data.

Digital tools also play a growing role in supporting communication and a sense of fairness. “One family prided itself on transparency, yet kept trust documents in hard copy at headquarters,” she said. “For dispersed heirs, that didn’t feel inclusive.”

Advisers as emotional mediators

As family dynamics grow more emotionally charged, advisers are stepping beyond traditional financial roles, acting as mediators, therapists, and cultural interpreters.

Ms Aspinall recalled one case where a patriarch publicly called his 60-year-old son “an idiot” during a meeting, prompting advisers to rebuild trust “from the smallest point of common ground”. In another, a long-serving family office head became “more of a mother to this family than to her own children”, eventually stepping back to restore balance in her own life.

These examples, she said, reflect the emotional demands of modern family advisory work.

Cultural sensitivity is equally important. In Saudi Arabia, for example, women may inherit half as much as men. While such norms may seem uncomfortable to outsiders, “it’s their money, their culture,” said Citi Wealth’s Mr Hofmann. “I remind myself we are there as a service provider in their culture.”

Redefining the meaning of wealth

Perhaps the most profound transformation of all is how younger generations perceive wealth itself. Since the 2008 financial crisis, there’s been “a deliberate downplaying of wealth among the ultras”, said historian and generational expert Eliza Filby.

“There is a growing desire to talk about how wealth is used and its purpose, rather than how it is accumulated,” she said.

For many younger people, wealth now represents freedom and self-determination. Control over one’s time increasingly seen as the ultimate luxury.

“There is a greater focus on health rather than wealth,” said Ms Filby. “And what health is for us all is one thing: time. Time is the one finite resource that we are subject to.” That mindset, she suggested, is influencing career choices and attitudes to work.

But that freedom brings its own challenges. For young people raised in the shadow of wealth — and with smartphones in their pockets since age 13 — the culture of constant comparison can be corrosive.

“When you don’t have to think about food and shelter, and you think a lot more about your identity, that becomes very anxiety-inducing, particularly in a tech-driven age,” she said, citing rising rates of anxiety and depression among wealthy young adults.

Emotional hand-holding

She also warned of the growing “infantilisation” of heirs as younger family members are kept at a distance, excluded from decision-making and unprepared for leadership. “Shifting them into active roles,” she said, “requires emotional hand-holding, not just knowledge transfer.”

The greatest threat to family wealth, she argued, is often “bad parenting”. Attitudes to money form early — between the ages of seven and 12 — and emotional literacy must go hand in hand with financial education. “Families have to ask: what kind of children are we raising for this wealth? What leadership are we modelling?”

In this evolving landscape, advisers are expected to do more than manage capital. They must bridge generations, world views and emotional priorities. One-size-fits-all approaches no longer work as wealth becomes more closely tied to identity and purpose.

Whether the issue is mental-health philanthropy, climate activism or AI adoption in a family business, advisers can help older generations understand why younger family members are pushing in new directions.

“Wealth managers should see themselves as translators of societal change for their clients,” said Ms Filby. “Understanding how society is changing, and localising that within the family you advise, is one of the most important things you can do.”