Rethinking wealth management for the region's modern affluent

Khaleej Times

3 days ago

Not long ago, paying a Dewa or ADDC bill meant standing in line at a kiosk, handing over cash, and losing precious time.
Now, it's three taps on your phone. So seamless today, we forget how painful it used to be. That shift didn't just make payments easier; it rewired our expectations. We now expect services to be invisible, intuitive, and consistent.
And yet, managing wealth still feels stuck in the past. Moving cash into a high-yield fund, making a currency transfer, or accessing investment opportunities too often means chasing relationship managers, navigating paper forms, and negotiating opaque fees.
This isn't a technology problem. It's an incentive problem.
The Middle East and North Africa's (Mena) wealth industry was built for two ends of the spectrum: retail mass-market and ultra-high-net-worth elite. The segment in between, what we call the 'modern affluent,' with $100,000 to $5 million in investable assets, has long been overlooked.
These are professionals, entrepreneurs, and globally mobile families. Their needs are different, yet most traditional institutions still operate on outdated assumptions: that wealth equals exclusivity, human advisors must act as gatekeepers, and opacity protects margins.
The result? A confusing, fragmented, and surprisingly analog experience for a digital-first generation. It's not just inconvenient. It reflects a deeper misalignment between what today's affluent actually want and what legacy institutions are providing.
What the modern affluent actually wants
Affluent investors in the region aren't just underserved; they're increasingly dissatisfied. A 2022 Accenture survey revealed that 38 per cent wealthy UAE respondents were actively looking to change their wealth manager.
Avaloq's 2024 investor survey pinpointed why. Among affluent investors in the UAE, the top reasons for switching included a lack of trust in their assigned advisor (44 per cent) and high fees (44 per cent). Others cited poor transparency (39 per cent) and limited access to preferred products (38 per cent).
These aren't isolated complaints. They reflect systemic flaws: opaque pricing, conflicted advice, and outdated offerings.
Strip away the complexity, and the modern affluent's expectations are clear:
● Transparency: Clear pricing, no hidden fees or commissions.
● Accessibility: The ability to act — from reallocating idle cash to diversifying portfolios — without delays.
● Consistency: A seamless experience, regardless of who they talk to or which channel they use.
Digital platforms can solve these pain points elegantly. But solving them doesn't mean removing the human element.
Advice still needs a human voice
You can Google or ChatGPT your symptoms for hours. But when it really matters, you still call your doctor or mom.
Why? Because trust isn't just about information. It's about who delivers it, and whether they genuinely care.
Money is no different. Even with endless data and tools, when the stakes involve family, future, or legacy, most people still want advice from someone they trust.
That advice, however, needs to evolve. The modern investor doesn't need a product pusher. They need fiduciary advisers — credible, aligned, and empathetic — whose success is measured by client outcomes.
And it's not just about access to a human. If that adviser is hard to reach, only calls to sell something, or isn't digitally enabled, trust erodes quickly. Today's clients expect more frequent, proactive, and personalised engagement. In fact, 82 per cent of UAE investors say multi-channel availability is critical to trust, and 58 per cent value advisers who proactively share opportunities.
A quarterly call no longer cuts it. A quarterly call no longer cuts it. The future is hybrid: using digital tools to personalize at scale while preserving the emotional intelligence only humans can offer.
Why the region's wealth model must change now
This isn't theoretical.
The UAE is now the world's leading destination for migrating millionaires, attracting a record net inflow of 6,700 high-net-worth individuals in 2024 — nearly double the number expected in the US.
This surge reflects more than tax advantages or lifestyle appeal. It signals a generational shift: a new class of self-made, digitally native professionals and entrepreneurs choosing to base their futures — and their wealth — in the region.
These 'modern affluents' are startup founders, senior professionals, family business successors, and dual-income couples living global lives from Dubai, Riyadh, or Doha. They don't want their parents' wealth manager. They want someone who speaks their language and aligns with their values.
As this wealth base grows, expectations will rise. Institutions that fail to modernize will fall behind.
A quiet shift is already underway
We're seeing it firsthand: clients who value fiduciary advice, digital access, and full fee transparency. Clients who expect idle cash to work harder, who want global market opportunities without friction, and who expect their advisor to genuinely have their back.
This transformation won't be dramatic. It will be quiet, steady, and inevitable — client by client, decision by decision — until the old model fades away.
Just like with bill payments, we'll eventually look back and wonder why we tolerated a wealth system that was so clunky and misaligned.
The modern affluent doesn't want a marble-lined branch office and a complimentary latte. They want clarity, control, and the confidence that their wealth is working for them. And increasingly, they're finding it.
Vault represents that shift. We're not digitising yesterday's model — we're building a new one from the ground up with the modern affluent as our core focus.
Because the future of wealth in Mena doesn't belong to legacy institutions. It belongs to a new generation of earners, investors, and decision-makers — who expect more, and deserve it.
The writer is co-founder and CEO, Vault Wealth Limited