The Future of Financial Advice

The report identifies six seismic shifts in financial advice: changing demographics, a move toward holistic financial well-being, demands for hyper-personalization, the rise of transparent pricing, technological innovation (specifically generative AI), and the influence of social media 'finfluencers'. It argues that while technology can scale personalized services and lower costs, human empathy remains essential for 'peace of mind'. The document emphasizes the need for inclusive advisory models to serve women and people of colour, and warns of the regulatory challenges posed by the global nature of social media financial information.

• A massive intergenerational wealth transfer is occurring, with Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation expected to pass down $72.6 trillion to younger generations by 2045.
• Women are increasingly becoming central to wealth management, controlling approximately $14 trillion of total US household assets and $4.92 trillion in Western Europe.
• Holistic financial advice, which integrates various needs like debt management and retirement, can significantly improve household finances, potentially saving the average US household 7.5% of their annual income per year.
• There is a growing preference for transparent and flexible pricing models, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials, who are more likely to switch advisers for lower fees compared to Baby Boomers.
• Generative AI is expected to significantly impact wealth management productivity, with estimates suggesting up to 67% of working hours in the sector will be affected.
• Despite the efficiency of AI, trust remains a barrier; 51% of US investors have little to no trust in AI-generated financial advice, and 48% are uncomfortable acting on it without human verification.
• Social media 'finfluencers' have a massive reach, with the top 10 finfluencers globally having 64 million combined followers, far exceeding the 10 million combined followers of the top 10 global financial institutions.
• Finfluencers significantly impact the behavior of young investors; in the UK, 90% of investors following finfluencers acted on their learnings, and 23% acted on that content alone.
• The global nature of social media creates regulatory challenges, leading to varied regional responses ranging from Japan's regulation of 'stealth marketing' to Australia's fines of up to AUD 1 million and prison sentences for unlicensed advice.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). The Future of Financial Advice. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_of_Financial_Advice_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Future of Financial Advice. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_of_Financial_Advice_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Future of Financial Advice |date=July 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_of_Financial_Advice_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024future, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Future of Financial Advice}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_of_Financial_Advice_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }