"Gen-90s" Becomes New Force Among High-Net-Worth Individuals, Accelerating Reshaping of Bank Private Banking Landscape

As the technology industry accelerates and capital markets remain active, the structure of China’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) is undergoing significant changes. Data shows that the overall demographic is becoming younger, with the “Post-90s” generation rapidly increasing in proportion and gradually becoming an important force in the wealth market. Against this backdrop, the development path of private banking services is also adjusting—from a focus on “scale expansion” to a greater emphasis on “deep management,” upgrading from single-product sales to comprehensive service systems covering asset allocation, wealth transfer, and cross-border arrangements. Meanwhile, financial institutions are accelerating efforts to address capability gaps, continuously expanding their global asset allocation and multi-jurisdictional arrangements, and enhancing offshore wealth management and integrated services.

The Accelerating Trend of Younger High-Net-Worth Individuals

On March 20, the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted the IPO application of Yushu Technology on the STAR Market. As a leading company in the humanoid robot sector, once listed, it is expected to become the “First A-share Humanoid Robot Stock,” and may also generate significant wealth effects in the short term, creating a new wave of high-net-worth individuals mainly composed of core technical personnel and entrepreneurial teams.

According to the prospectus, the company’s core technical team is primarily composed of Post-90s members, with employee shareholding platforms accounting for over 10%. Under the equity incentive mechanism, as the IPO progresses, potential book gains are expected to accelerate into realizable wealth, forming new wealth clusters within certain regions. This path is a typical example of the evolving structure of China’s high-net-worth population in recent years.

In recent years, amid active IPOs on the STAR Market, Hong Kong, and U.S. stock exchanges, a new wave of “tech-rich” individuals—scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs—has been rapidly emerging. For example, in Hong Kong, the number of newly listed companies reached 119 in 2025, raising a total of HKD 285.8 billion, an increase of over 220% year-on-year. Industry-wise, high-growth sectors such as software services, new energy, and medical devices performed strongly. This trend continues into 2026, with companies like Bairen Technology, MiniMax, Zhipu, and Tianshu Zhixin gradually filing or advancing their listings, continuously supplying a new generation of “tech elites” to the market.

Against this background, various surveys indicate that China’s high-net-worth population is becoming noticeably younger. Currently, the average age of high-net-worth individuals has fallen to around 35, with the proportion under 35 steadily increasing, many of whom come from founding teams or early investors in tech companies. Notably, the Post-90s group has seen rapid growth over the past few years and is now a key target for wealth management institutions. The Hurun Research Institute’s early-year report, “China High-Net-Worth Lifestyle Quality Report,” shows that the average age of surveyed high-net-worth individuals is 36, with 51% under 35 (Post-90s).

Grace Liu, Chief Operating Officer of Legacy Trust Company (Hong Kong), stated in an interview that from the client structure perspective, Post-90s clients are gradually entering the trust service system. “Many Post-90s are already establishing trusts, and their wealth scale is not small.” She pointed out that these clients are mainly concentrated in technology, software, and internet industries, often being first-generation entrepreneurs. “Compared to when I first started in the industry serving mainly the 50s and 60s, the clients are now noticeably younger, and this change is very intuitive.”

Private Banking Business Accelerates Its Adjustment

The changing structure of high-net-worth clients, combined with market volatility, is driving a divergence in the growth models of bank private banking services.

On one hand, some banks continue to pursue a client quantity expansion strategy. From the disclosed 2025 performance data, many institutions show characteristics of “rapid client growth but slowing AUM (Assets Under Management) growth.” For example, as of the end of 2025, Ping An Bank’s private banking client base reached 105,600 accounts, up 9.1% year-on-year, but AUM only increased by 0.8%, a significant slowdown compared to previous years.

On the other hand, banks are gradually shifting away from reliance on AUM scale expansion, emphasizing asset allocation capabilities, comprehensive service capacity, and long-term client stickiness. “Unlike traditional wealth accumulation from real estate and heavy asset industries, the wealth of emerging clients mainly comes from equity and options, which are more volatile and rely more on capital market pricing,” said an industry insider.

Liu also noted that young high-net-worth clients are becoming more proactive in wealth management: “They tend to start planning their wealth management earlier, rather than responding after problems arise.” She believes this generation has a broader global perspective and forward-looking planning awareness: “They not only focus on domestic asset allocation but also consider arrangements across different jurisdictions and long-term asset structuring.”

Additionally, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing is increasingly becoming a key allocation direction for the new generation of high-net-worth individuals. Since 2025, the scale of ESG-themed financial products has continued to grow, reflecting young clients’ recognition of sustainable investment concepts and prompting banks to accelerate the inclusion of related asset classes in their product systems. The China Banking Wealth Management Registration and Trust Center’s “China Banking Wealth Management Market Annual Report (2025)” shows that by the end of 2025, the outstanding balance of ESG-themed wealth management products was RMB 311 billion, up 29.96% year-on-year.

In this context, private banking is gradually moving away from the “scale expansion” era toward a stage of deep management. For example, “scientist clients” are becoming a focus for private banks. Institutions like ICBC and CCB have built dedicated service systems around tech entrepreneurs and researchers, leveraging public-private collaborations, equity services, and industry resource connections to enhance comprehensive service capabilities.

Banks are also accelerating organizational restructuring. Since early 2026, more than ten listed banks have established or restructured departments related to wealth management. For instance, Bank of Communications set up a wealth management department at the head office level, led by the private banking head, to strengthen resource coordination across the bank. These measures reflect the increasing strategic importance of wealth management within banks. “Essentially, it’s shifting from ‘selling products’ to ‘making asset allocations,’ and further to ‘providing comprehensive services covering the entire client lifecycle,’” said a wealth management professional from a joint-stock bank.

In resource allocation, banks are increasing investments in advisory systems, family trusts, and cross-border asset allocation capabilities. They are recruiting talent for wealth management subsidiaries and asset management institutions to strengthen asset allocation and research; simultaneously, they are improving tools like family trusts and insurance trusts to enhance wealth transfer and risk isolation functions.

Enhancing Offshore Wealth Management Capabilities

The changing wealth landscape is driving service capability upgrades. Industry insiders point out that for “tech-rich” new wealth—whose main sources are equity and options—transforming “book wealth” into configurable and liquid assets is a core challenge. This process involves services like restricted stock custody, pledge financing, and liquidity management, which demand higher capabilities in product design, risk pricing, and risk control systems.

Meanwhile, institutions are accelerating efforts to fill capability gaps. For example, Standard Chartered recently announced plans to expand its team in Singapore to serve Chinese high-net-worth clients better, strengthening offshore wealth management to meet growing cross-border asset allocation needs. “More clients are asking about offshore asset allocation, family trusts, and identity planning, which cannot be fully covered by domestic systems alone,” Liu said.

Behind these demand changes is a trend toward increasingly globalized and diversified asset allocation. The new generation of high-net-worth individuals prefers cross-border diversification to spread risks, including overseas securities, private equity, and hedge funds. At the same time, offshore trusts and family offices are used more frequently to achieve risk isolation, tax optimization, and intergenerational transfer.

In this process, the choice of jurisdiction is becoming more important. Liu pointed out that Hong Kong, Singapore, and some offshore jurisdictions with mature legal systems and flexible institutional arrangements continue to attract high-net-worth clients. “Different jurisdictions have variations in trust tracing periods and asset protection rules, with some regions offering advantages in asset isolation,” she said.