UBS has spent more than two decades turning next-generation engagement from a side initiative into a core discipline, building the most complete global ecosystem for inheriting wealth owners in private banking. As trillions of dollars change hands over the coming decades, that investment is paying off in deeper relationships, stronger succession outcomes and higher share of wallet from the world’s largest families.
The strategic backdrop is stark. UBS’s Global Wealth Report estimates that $84 trillion in wealth globally will transfer over the next 20 to 25 years – and that more than 70% of heirs intend to change advisers when they inherit. UBS’s research also highlights the scale of the preparation gap: only 56% of family offices have documented succession plans, and just 26% fully involve next-generation family members from the outset.
The Swiss bank’s answer to this conundrum is a strategy that treats next-gen as a mainstream client segment, not a marketing subset. The bank distinguishes three sub-groups: those already in charge; those in line to assume control within five years; and those involved but further from responsibility. UBS’s coverage, advisory and education journeys are designed accordingly.
The bank’s efforts to tap into next-gen wealth are catalysed by its scale. UBS Global Wealth Management’s global invested assets rose to $4.51 trillion as of the first half of 2025, with robust net new assets across the period and rising revenues. UBS’s global next-generation solutions (GNGS) team, with nine dedicated specialists, operates as an internal competence centre, advising individual markets on strategy, segment approaches and specific client cases – ultimately acting as a one‑stop‑shop to connect next-gen clients with family advisory, wealth planning and philanthropy teams.
On the client side, UBS’s proposition rests on three pillars: advisory, education and partnerships. Advisory work begins with a structured “next-gen relationship wheel” and tailored workshops on topics such as financial literacy, family governance, cross-generational communication and the meaning of wealth, often delivered through “next-gen days” that bring together family members, UBS specialists and carefully selected peers.
By engaging early with their perspectives and evolving with their ambitions, UBS helps families build purpose-driven legacies that are resilient and endure across generations
Benjamin Cavalli
During the review period, the GNGS team has piloted, standardised and delivered bespoke advisory solutions to dozens of billionaire and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families, focusing on live succession and wealth-transfer situations. UBS reports that these clients have delivered above-average year-on-year revenue growth and increased wallet share.
Content is crucial to any next-gen offering, and UBS comprehensively delivers on that front. Flagship global programmes include Global Rising Investors and Young Successors, which blend theory and practice on markets, portfolio management and the responsibilities of wealth. These programmes are complemented by regional bootcamps and country-specific initiatives, and supported by an expanding digital content hub that answers common questions on legacy, succession and family dynamics.
Partnerships complete the ecosystem. UBS is the main sponsor and strategic partner of the Young Investors Organisation (YIO), a member‑led, non‑profit network of roughly 2,000 inheriting leaders from 75 countries, founded in 2007. The partnership, renewed for another three years in 2025, gives UBS clients access to more than 70 regional and global YIO programmes a year – from conferences and field trips to peer coaching.
Case studies presented by UBS illustrate how such content translates into outcomes. In one, a young adult family member attended the Global Family Ties programme, then joined YIO and an impact investing course. Over time, he became chief business developer at the family office and led a shift towards portfolios aligned with family values, helping to retain and grow the relationship with UBS. In another, a group of siblings on the verge of dissolving a shared banking relationship reversed course after UBS facilitated workshops on communication, governance and investment strategy.
UBS is also weaving next-gen into core platforms such as UBS Wealth Way, using its “liquidity, longevity, legacy” framework and planning tools as interactive training aids. Circle One, a mobile app that offers curated chief investment office content, communities and discussion rooms, has now been opened to targeted next-gen audiences in key markets. A global next-gen marketing and adviser toolkit, together with a policy to include a set proportion of next-gen guests in all major events, has more than doubled the number of engaged children of existing clients to about 500.
Benjamin Cavalli, head of GWM strategic clients and global connectivity, says: “As the world’s only truly global wealth manager, UBS supports families through the pivotal transition of wealth and responsibility, guided by deep expertise and a unique collaboration approach. We are proud of what we have already achieved, working alongside the next generation as stewards of the future of wealth. By engaging early with their perspectives and evolving with their ambitions, UBS helps families build purpose-driven legacies that are resilient and endure across generations.”
What sets UBS apart is not simply the breadth of its next-gen programmes, but the way it has institutionalised them across the bank – from governance and adviser incentives to peer networks and digital journeys – amid the most significant wealth transfer in modern history. In an industry where most competitors still treat next-gen as a side project, UBS is several steps ahead when it comes to building a bank that will last generations.
