19 hours ago
India Witnesses Surge in Wealth Growth, Outpaces APAC; Eyes 55% Rise in Millionaires by 2029: BCG Report
Global financial wealth surged to a record $305 trillion in 2024, propelled by an 8.1% rise in financial assets amid strong equity market performance. Yet beneath this headline growth, the industry's underlying engine, namely organic expansion, needs renewed strategic focus.
New proprietary analysis by Boston Consulting Group reveals that just 28% of wealth manager asset growth over the past decade came from existing advisors, falling to 22% in mature markets. Instead, firms leaned heavily on external levers such as M&A, market performance, and advisor recruitment—all of which can no longer be relied on to increase revenue.
'India's wealth management market is undergoing a seismic shift, with the number of dollar millionaires expected to grow by over 55% from 2024 to 2029—far outpacing the global average of 21%. From 2014 to 2024, organic growth varied sharply by region, with wealth managers in APAC achieving rates of 50% —more than double that of their peers in EMEA and North America. driven decisively by emerging markets like India. A generational wave of first-time wealth creators, especially millennial entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, is reshaping the industry. As India rises as a wealth management powerhouse, sharp customer segmentation and the end-to-end integration of AI and GenAI—from prospecting to advisory to service—will be critical to staying ahead'. Says Mayank Jha, Managing Director & Partner, BCG
Key India Findings:
India's financial wealth rose by 10.8% between 2023 and 2024—surpassing the Asia-Pacific average of 7.3% and underscoring the country's growing economic muscle. With Asia-Pacific projected to grow at 9% annually through 2029—well ahead of North America's 4% and Western Europe's 5%—India is poised to be a key engine powering this global shift in financial wealth.
India's wealth management market is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The number of individuals in the top wealth brackets—those with more than a million dollars in financial wealth—is set to grow by over 55% from 2024 to 2029. This rapid expansion marks a significant shift in the financial landscape and signals unprecedented opportunity for advisors and institutions ready to serve this emerging demand
Organic growth of AUM from 2014-24 varied sharply by region, with wealth managers in APAC achieving rates of 50% —more than double that of their peers in EMEA and North America, driven largely by emerging markets like India. A generational surge in first-time wealth creators, especially millennials, has enabled both new and established advisors to attract fresh clients and assets
GenAI-powered prospecting engines are now leveraging external data to map detailed client archetypes—like business owners, expats, and high-income professionals—and track the digital signals that often precede investable wealth. What makes them powerful is not just identifying names, but prioritizing them. Early movers have already seen fivefold increase in leads and double the conversion rates
'What defines winners today is no longer exposure to market performance or the ability to poach senior bankers, but their ability to grow from within,' said Michael Kahlich, managing director and partner at BCG. 'Firms that deliberately invest in advisor enablement, brand identity, and next-gen client strategies are outperforming peers—not just in revenue, but also in valuation multiples.'
These are among the key findings of BCG's Global Wealth Report 2025: Rethinking the Rules for Growth:
Cross-border wealth surged by 8.7%, reaching $14.4 trillion in 2024. This is an acceleration over the prior four-year average annual growth of 6.3%, given increasing demand for geographic diversification and safe havens. Singapore (11.9% growth) and the UAE (11.1%) emerged as standout booking centers, with Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore expected to absorb two-thirds of all new cross-border wealth by 2029.
Wealth management assets under management (AuM) expanded by 13% in 2024, significantly faster than overall financial wealth (8.1%), yet revenue growth lagged at 7.1%, as many firms saw falling margins on the back of a changing rate environment.
Universal banks outpaced pure-plays in organic growth, generating 32% of their AuM growth from existing advisors—double that of pure-play firms (15%) benefitting from structural advantages in lead generation.
Firms are starting to deploy GenAI for prospecting, with some early movers reporting fivefold increases in lead generation and a doubling of conversion rates. Meanwhile, those integrating data-driven client retention systems saw up to 15% increases in product revenue and 20–30% boosts in productivity.
Strategic Imperatives:
The report identifies four high-impact levers for firms looking to elevate their organic growth engines:
Brand Differentiation: Building trust and relevance through clear identity and messaging while strengthening digital marketing
GenAI-Driven Client Acquisition: Using agentic AI to identify high-potential prospects, build comprehensive profiles, and enable highly personal outreaches
Data-Driven Recommendation Systems: By integrating data across all business lines, wealth managers can build a comprehensive view full of signals about what a client might need next.
Next-Gen Client Engagement: Personalizing the client journey for younger investors with digital-native expectations
'The rules of the game are shifting. Firms that embrace AI-enabled prospecting, personalized onboarding, and digital tools that boost productivity will be the ones to capture the next wave of growth,' said Daniel Kessler, managing director and senior partner at BCG and co-author of the report. 'Wealth is being created globally, but the challenge for wealth managers will be to capture it.'
