Global wealth continues to grow. However, the way in which high-net-worth individuals manage and protect their wealth is also changing. This is one of the most striking trends highlighted in UBS’s Global Wealth Report 2025, which reveals an interesting development: in some markets, the proportion of financial wealth allocated to insurance and pension products is on the rise, in some cases even exceeding that allocated to more traditional financial instruments.
Starting with the figures, together with Fabrizio Palumbo, Octium’s Group Country Head for Italy, we analyse the reasons behind this trend and the growing role of private insurance in the management of high-net-worth assets.
From growth to long-term planning
The research conducted by UBS outlines a distribution of financial wealth that varies according to the country in question. The US, for example, among the five markets considered – alongside Switzerland, Singapore, Australia and the UK – has the highest percentage of assets allocated to securities or other financial products. In the other four markets, however, the proportion allocated to pensions and insurance is more significant. According to UBS, Singapore accounts for the highest share – 31 per cent – of total financial wealth, followed by the UK with 30 per cent, Switzerland with 27 per cent and Australia with 26 per cent.
In this era of longevity, the growing interest among the most sophisticated HNWIs in long-term wealth management instruments may be seen as almost a natural progression. But why turn specifically to insurance solutions?
“The growing interest in insurance solutions stems from the need for instruments capable of bringing order and stability to increasingly complex portfolios. Although we do not operate directly in many of the international markets analysed in the UBS Report, we observe how these trends also profoundly influence the European and international clients we serve. For many of these clients, a life insurance policy represents an effective way of channelling wealth growth into a structured plan that takes into account longevity, family complexity and the need to coordinate financial decisions over time”, Palumbo says.
When wealth seeks protection
The growth in global wealth is a trend set to continue in the coming years. According to UBS, by 2029 there will be over five million new dollar millionaires worldwide. This development will mean, for the entire wealth management sector, even more sophisticated clients to manage, new needs to identify and increasingly complex wealth strategies.
Another significant trend relates to the rise of the EMILLI, or Everyday Millionaires: a category of investors with wealth ranging from 1 to 5 million dollars, which is growing steadily worldwide.
In a macroeconomic environment where volatility and uncertainty have become structural realities rather than temporary challenges, the priorities of wealth management have expanded. Alongside the pursuit of returns, investors are placing greater emphasis on regulatory compliance, asset protection—including legal safeguarding—access to new investment opportunities, and, above all, the effective management of increasingly global and diversified portfolios.
This is a typical feature of today’s HNWI clientele: families with residences, assets and interests spread across different jurisdictions. This is a key consideration, particularly in the context of generational succession, and is directly linked to the insurance sector and private insurance, which is now called upon to offer tools capable of supporting cross-border wealth, coordinating planning, taxation and governance.
“For clients with international interests, a life insurance policy offers a unique balance between protection, asset integration and clear governance, allowing them to adapt to changes in family circumstances or tax residence without having to rethink their entire wealth architecture. In a cross-border context, compliance remains a key issue: insurance solutions enable assets to be managed transparently and in accordance with the regulations of different countries, reducing operational risks and ensuring a stable framework for both the client and their advisers”, Palumbo adds.
Family offices and the Next Generation: wealth is more than just capital
Today, transferring wealth is no longer simply a matter of passing on capital. In the case of substantial estates, what is handed down from one generation to the next also encompasses values, methodologies, responsibilities, governance frameworks, and the ability to navigate increasingly complex decision-making environments. This challenge is highly relevant to the wealth management industry as a whole and, in particular, to family offices, which are tasked not only with managing family assets but also with preparing future generations to preserve, oversee, and grow them effectively.
UBS’s Global Family Office Report 2026 provides a clear illustration of this evolution. On the one hand, 60% of family offices indicate that they plan to adjust their strategic asset allocation over the next 12 months, reflecting a more proactive approach to portfolio review amid geopolitical uncertainty, concentration risks, and the growing need for resilience. On the other hand, the report points to a deeper and more pressing challenge: while wealth succession planning is gaining momentum, many family offices continue to involve the Next Generation only marginally in both investment decisions and wider family governance matters.
It is precisely here that generational succession ceases to be merely a legal or tax issue and becomes a matter of wealth architecture.
“For HNWI and UHNWI families, generational succession is not just about the transfer of assets, but about the continuity of governance and the family’s vision. Where assets are spread across multiple jurisdictions, succession requires wealth planning capable of coordinating different regulatory frameworks, protecting assets and supporting the next generation in their role. Insurance solutions offer a stable and transparent framework that facilitates this ongoing process, reducing the risk of fragmentation and ensuring an orderly and consistent transfer over time”, Palumbo concludes.
From this perspective, private insurance can be seen as part of a broader planning strategy, alongside trusts, holding companies, family offices, and legal and tax advice. Its value lies in its ability to combine investment, protection and wealth transfer within a flexible structure, which is particularly relevant when assets, the family and economic interests are no longer concentrated in a single country.
