Top 10 trends in private wealth for 2026

As we settle, a little apprehensively, into the new year, I wanted to share my (very personal) assessment of the 10 key trends which are likely to impact wealthy families and their advisers in 2026.

1. The politics of rejection

In 2025, as countries held elections against a backdrop of economic malaise and partisan social media, two key themes emerged. First, a rejection of incumbents. Second, a rejection of centrist governments.

There is every indication these twin trends will continue into 2026. If an election were to be held in the UK today, polls suggest the right-wing populist Reform Party would win, breaking the two-party system which has governed the UK for over 100 years.

As populist governments sweep across the world, long-held assumptions around globalisation, territorial sovereignty and even democracy are up for debate.

As a result, we will see increasing demand from clients to create structures designed to diversify and to protect their wealth. We will also see growing demand from clients looking to acquire multiple places of residence and passports, presenting them with emergency options in an increasingly uncertain world.

2. A world turned upside-down

The rise in populism and the general turning away from liberal values is creating a world vulnerable to geopolitical shocks.

As the US pulls back from the role of 'world policeman', geopolitics is no longer determined by political and economic blocs. Instead, we are seeing diplomacy governed by an increasingly complex and uncertain network of bilateral relationships based on political and economic expediency.

This too will increase the demand from clients for strategies which diversify their wealth and citizenship. But it will also present professional challenges for advisers. As geopolitics become increasingly fast-moving and fluid, we will need to be agile to avoid the regulatory and reputational risks that arise from acting for clients based in countries which, only months ago, were in the international community's favour but are now firmly out of favour.

3. Larger debts, higher taxes

Meanwhile governments face the increasingly urgent question of how to close the gaping hole between spending and revenue.

Big Government is in fashion. Expectations have been set by government responses to COVID-19 and populist politicians displaying little appetite for the kind of fiscal conservatism once proudly embraced by the right. Falling birth rates and rising life expectancy create a narrower tax base, and a more dangerous world requires significant increases in defence spending.

Some governments have started to take the necessary and painful steps to close the fiscal gap (if only to placate the financial markets). In the UK, months of fevered speculation culminated in a Budget statement that raised around £30bn in taxes. Other administrations, such as the US (where government borrowing approaches 6% of GDP) are still in a state of denial. But hard decisions will need to be made by almost all governments (at least in the Western world) in the coming years. 

Inevitably, this will result in renewed focus on how the wealthy can be targeted. This is not surprising: the wealthiest 1% of the world's population now owns as much as 95% of humanity combined. And this disparity is growing. In 1982, the 400 richest Americans owned wealth equivalent to 2% of the country's GDP – that figure now sits at 40%.

For some countries, such as the UAE (with no personal taxes) and Italy (with an attractive lump sum regime), the policy response has been to seek to attract the wealthy. For others, such as the UK, the focus has largely been on extracting more tax from the wealthy. Empirical evidence suggests that raising taxes on the wealthy is generally counterproductive – witness the number of wealthy individuals leaving the UK following the abolition of the 'non-dom' regime. But for as long as the wealthy grow wealthier, and the cost-of-living crisis persists, tax policies across the world will continue to be driven by the politics of envy.

4. The Great Transfer

According to UBS’ Global Wealth Report 2025, $83tn of wealth will be transferred to the next generation within the next 20 to 25 years. Millennials will hold five times as much wealth by 2030 as they do today, but significant wealth will also pass to Gen Z.

The Great Wealth Transfer is likely to signal changes in mindset which extend beyond disdain for 'brown furniture'. Studies indicate that more than half of newly inherited billionaires are breaking away from their family businesses in order to pursue other career ambitions. Moreover, galvanised by principles of wellbeing, many of the next generation are asking the question “does money really buy happiness?” – and reaching a very different conclusion than their parents and grandparents.

And the next generation is in many cases adopting a new, softer, attitude to tax. The Guernsey courts recently blessed a decision for local trustees to be replaced by UK-based trustees specifically to bring the trusts within the scope of UK taxation. The decision was made because the beneficiaries, based in the UK, felt that they had a moral duty to pay their fair share of tax.

The Great Transfer is also happening inside our offices. Millennials are assuming senior management positions in our organisations and bringing their own values with them. If these values better reflect those of our clients, that can only be a good thing.

Finally, the Great Transfer will not only be from one generation to another, but from men to women. In high-income countries, women outlive men by around five to eight years. Are all advisers ready for this?

5. A question of capacity

One less welcome long-term trend is the rise of mental incapacity.

There are almost 55m people worldwide living with dementia, and that figure is expected to reach 78m by 2030 as the elderly population grows.

This presents a day-to-day challenge for private wealth advisers. What do we do when our clients (to whom we owe a duty of care) clearly need our advice but are no longer able to reliably provide instructions?

The law is not keeping up with the demographics. In the UK, the legal test for mental capacity to make a will was set by the courts in 1870. At the time, the life expectancy of a newborn girl was under 45.

The position is even more challenging for trustees. How much weight can a trustee place on the wishes of a settlor, or consents of a protector, who is on the edge of losing mental capacity?

Explore expert insight and practical steps in our campaign 'A Question of Trust'.

6. Mistakes and misinformation

In today’s world of social media and 'cancel culture', reputations are lost overnight through missteps. But the growing danger is misinformation.

We are already seeing AI-generated disinformation impact both personal reputations and national security. In December, an AI-generated video resulted in world leaders expressing genuine concern that a coup had taken place in France.

Reputational experts have long advised clients on the importance of putting measures in place to manage online presence and control the media narrative. But now every wealthy individual and family should have a crisis plan in place to be in the best position possible to respond quickly if, and when, a reputational attack occurs.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence

This brings us neatly onto the topic of AI.

AI will result in private wealth being accumulated at unprecedented speed. Startups will do more with less. Founders will create huge wealth with tiny teams.

To some extent, that future is already here. There are currently around 12 AI startups valued at over $1bn with teams of fewer than 50 people. This makes Amazon, which employs 1.5m people worldwide, look very old-fashioned.

Of course, this will all have an enormous impact on society and only exacerbate the sense of alienation which is driving the politics of envy and populism.

But what about the world of private wealth?

The newly generated wealth will need to be structured and managed. But will this be done by humans? Studies indicate that the professional services sector is particularly vulnerable to the automation of work.

Clearly, we must embrace AI or risk obsolescence.

But what is also clear is that we can best prepare for AI, and best protect ourselves against it, by reflecting on what it means to be human. In a world in which the answers to our clients’ most technical problems will be accessible to all, what will make us stand out? It will be our ability to ask the questions clients should be asking but are not, and to identify the ambitions and fears they should be articulating but cannot. In the past, an ability to be collaborative and emotionally intelligent has distinguished the best private wealth professionals from everybody else. In the future, without these qualities, we will simply not have careers.

8. Not just new money, but neurodivergent money

As substantial wealth is generated from technology gains pace, we are seeing a new kind of wealth creator.

What do Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Bill Gates all have in common (other than very substantial wealth)? They are all neurodivergent – and proud of it.

Wealth creators are now quick to credit their success to their neurodivergence. Discussing his autism, Elon Musk commented: “I reinvented electric cars, and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?”.

Advisers will need to adapt. We are already seeing that clients want to exchange texts rather than receive lengthy memos. But more than that, the new wealthy – and neurodivergent wealthy – are disrupters. They often have little regard for conventions.

That does not mean we need to emulate them, but we do need to understand them to win their trust and to advise them effectively. It therefore becomes all the more important that we make room in our own workplaces for colleagues who themselves are neurodivergent.

9. Sue baby, sue

All of these trends will contribute to one more trend: an increasingly litigious world.

Life expectancy is increasing. It is no longer unusual for wealth to be shared between three generations at once, each with very different values and perspectives. And the prospect of people living with an extended period of incapacity only increases the risk for family disputes, and of fire being turned onto advisers.

We will also see tax authorities become increasingly aggressive in their pursuit of tax enquiries and tax disputes. This will be facilitated by AI's ability to identify non-compliance, incentivised by the urgent need to fund government spending and emboldened by populist anti-wealth sentiment.

Read our guidance on managing UK tax disputes.

10. Surprise!

One thing of which we can be certain is that the coming year will bring surprises.

2025 saw attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, President Trump rolling out (quite literally) a red carpet for Putin and an American Pope. 2026 has already seen the seizure of Nicolás Maduro – what else will the year bring?

The need for clients, and their advisers, to prepare for the unexpected has never been greater.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, January 2026