U.S. households controlled upward of $102 trillion in financial assets as of year-end 2025, up by 12% from 2024, according to estimates in a new report from Cerulli Associates.
Ultra-high-net-worth households are most likely to reap benefits of this continued growth, but middle-market and mass-affluent households with between $100,000 and $2 million in financial assets are becoming increasingly important for providers and advisors as their wealth grows, Cerulli said.
Although these households' share of financial assets fell from 43% in 2013 to 24% last year, they have seen their wealth grow from $14 trillion to $25 trillion in that same period. This market, typically younger and less advised, comprises 46.9 million households and is looking for involved advisor relationships.
Providers that can best offer streamlined advisory services at scale will benefit, Cerulli said.
"Traditionally, wealth management firms have preferred to begin client relationships only after prospects have reached addressable asset minimums ranging from $250,000 to more than $1 million," Scott Smith, Cerulli's senior director of client relationships, said in a statement. "Though this strategy has proven effective, it faces increased pressure as competitors seek additional options to connect with prospects earlier in the financial lifecycle."
Acting earlier matters, Cerulli said, noting that opportunities for providers to engage new clients drop sharply as these prospects grow older.
Younger investors' initial financial engagements are usually with banks or retirement plan providers. As these platforms continue to add capabilities, including investment advisory options, they are broadening their engagement to ward off later attrition.
Eighty-two percent of what Cerulli calls Collaborative Prospects and 59% of Outsourcers said they preferred to use a single provider for their investment and banking needs. A third of affluent respondents reported that they had already chosen to do so, with the highest incidence among Collaborative Prospects, who tend to be earlier in their financial lifecycles, Cerulli found.
Non-adopters frequently cite superior product offers elsewhere and complicated consolidation processes as discouraging factors.
Future prospects are likely to have several financial services provider relationships, Smith noted, before they meet wealth management minimum asset-under-management benchmarks.
"To optimize long-term client acquisition," he said, "providers will need to engage with prospects earlier or find more effective strategies to displace incumbents."
As a starting point, he said, providers must define for clients and prospects what a premium experience entails, rather than hope that they will perceive a minimum viable offer as having differentiated value.
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