The wealth management industry has a strange way of deciding who needs advice. It looks at the size of the account. We have confused a business model with a client need. A $20 million investor may have accountants, attorneys, multiple advisors, and a sophisticated financial infrastructure already in place. A couple with $1 million approaching retirement may have something much more urgent: 25 years of decisions ahead of them, and very little room for a mistake.
I understand why the industry gravitates toward $5 million, $10 million, or $20 million accounts. Assets under management drive revenue, and larger relationships can make the economics of advice easier to justify. Global assets under management reached a record $147 trillion in 2025, while the wealth, defined-contribution, and insurance segments generated more than 80% of global net flows in 2024. The commercial logic is obvious. The problem begins when commercial logic becomes our definition of who deserves attention.
