The United States has replaced temporary tariffs with new duties ranging between 10% and 12.5% targeting 60 countries, which account for 99% of its goods imports. Far from signaling a relaxation of tariff policy, this move highlights Washington’s determination to maintain strong trade protection while preparing new measures, as highlighted by Coface economists.
Washington Maintains Tariff Pressure
According to Coface, the expiration of temporary tariffs established under Section 122 does not represent a retreat in U.S. trade policy. These tariffs expired on July 24, but they have been replaced by new duties ranging from 10% to 12.5%, based on Section 301, applicable to 60 countries representing 99% of U.S. goods imports. This transition highlights Washington’s determination to maintain a high level of tariff protection despite legal hurdles encountered in recent months.
“The immediate impact on the average level of customs duties is expected to be limited: the new measures do not automatically add to already existing tariffs and do not significantly alter the average rate applied to U.S. imports. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the U.S. administration’s ability to adapt its instruments and continue advancing its trade strategy,” Coface analysts add.
A Stronger Legal Basis
Section 301 has already been used by the United States to impose tariffs, notably against China during the first Trump administration. Unlike the framework based on IEEPA, whose solidness was questioned due to the lack of explicit authorization to impose tariffs, Section 301 provides the White House with a stronger and more clearly established legal basis.
However, this increased legal foundation does not rule out the possibility of future challenges. To justify these duties, Washington argues that affected countries lack effective mechanisms to prohibit or control imports resulting from forced labor. Importing companies could challenge this rationale, particularly given that it applies to a very broad group of trading partners.
“This decision is not simply a technical renewal of existing tariffs. Above all, it demonstrates Washington’s intention to convert a contested regime into a more sustainable tariff framework. For businesses, the message is clear: the risk of U.S. tariffs remains high, even when a measure is on the verge of expiring,” explains Marcos Carias, North America economist at Coface.
New Tariffs on the Horizon
The new tariffs between 10% and 12.5% restore a common tariff framework for a large portion of U.S. imports, but they do not fully restore the previous regime. That regime also included additional surcharges targeting specific countries or products. It is precisely this second layer of measures that Washington could seek to reinstate in the coming months.
A new investigation under Section 301 is already underway, focusing this time on the structural overcapacity of 16 economies, including China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, Mexico, and several Southeast Asian countries. While both the timeline and tariff levels that could result from this probe remain unknown, this procedure could allow Washington to target its measures more specifically against certain economies.
Other sector-specific investigations are also being conducted, particularly in aerospace, drones, medical equipment, robotics, industrial machinery, wind turbines, critical minerals, and polysilicon. Here again, it is not possible to predict with precision what measures might be adopted, but these investigations confirm that U.S. tariff policy remains in full evolution.
Canada: An Example of Escalating Trade Pressure
The pressure being exerted on Canada illustrates this dynamic. The United States has announced new 50% tariffs on Canadian imports valued at $20 billion—equivalent to 5.2% of Canadian exports to the U.S.—set to take effect on August 19, 2026.
At first glance, this measure appears designed as a leverage tool in North American trade talks. Its macroeconomic impact would remain limited should it come into force, but it confirms the increasingly frequent use of tariffs as an instrument of economic and diplomatic pressure.
Digital assets are entering a “mature institutional phase,” with sector development reflecting the growth of private markets, according to a new report by Nickel Digital Asset Management (Nickel). Based on a global survey of institutional investors and wealth managers together managing over $14 trillion in assets, the report reveals that 91% plan to increase their digital asset holdings over the coming year.
Furthermore, 65% place digital assets among their top five asset classes for risk-adjusted returns over the next five years. This figure surpasses the 61% who opted for private equity and the 53% who selected European equities and commodities in the report titled *The Next Stage of the Digital Assets Investment Revolution*.
Market Evolution and Asset Allocation
Nickel believes the study—conducted across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates—demonstrates that the evolution of digital assets mirrors the development of private markets as a whole. Looking at the alternative asset class data, 58% of institutional investors and wealth managers view digital assets as part of their allocation to alternative asset classes. Meanwhile, data for the standalone sector indicates that the remaining 42% classify them as a standalone sector.
The research for the report also revealed that pension funds and wealth managers are among the investor profiles likely to lead the adoption of digital assets over the next two years. Around 69% of professional investors surveyed believe that pension fund investment will increase dramatically, while 60% hold the same view regarding wealth managers. The Nickel report also examines a wide range of other topics, such as digital asset corporate treasuries, crypto IPOs, ETF launches, tokenization, and the appeal of careers in the crypto sector.
“We conduct regular research across the sector, and it is clear that institutional investors are no longer debating whether digital assets should be part of their portfolios, but rather how to access them in a controlled manner with proper risk management. For this adoption to continue, stronger regulation and greater transparency will be required to alleviate lingering concerns around operational risk and market integrity. Nevertheless, digital assets are advancing into a more mature institutional phase, where growth will be driven less by speculative flows and more by disciplined strategic allocations,” notes Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and founding partner of Nickel Digital.
The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history is well underway, raising a question that extends far beyond who will receive the assets: what will happen to the wealth once it changes hands?
The answer will have profound implications for families, family businesses, and particularly the wealth management industry. According to Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2025, up to $83.5 trillion in wealth is projected to be transferred to new generations by 2048. This figure encompasses Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z, though the latter two generations will hold a growing share of the transferred wealth.
However, the sheer volume of resources involved turns wealth succession into one of the central challenges of the coming decades. It is not merely a matter of distributing assets among heirs, but of determining how to preserve them, who will hold control, how decisions will be made, and what portion of the wealth will continue to generate value for subsequent generations.
This shift also represents a major transformation for wealth managers. The traditional financial advisor, focused primarily on product selection and portfolio management, faces the need to evolve into an interlocutor capable of guiding families through governance, taxation, ownership structures, investments, and intergenerational agreements.
Mexico: A New Wave of Financial Wealth
Mexico stands among the emerging markets poised to benefit from this transformation. Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Wealth Report 2026 estimates that the country could add around $550 billion in financial wealth between 2025 and 2030, ranking second only to India and Brazil among top emerging-market generators of new financial wealth. In another projection within the same report, BCG forecasts roughly $600 billion in total Mexican wealth growth by 2030, depending on the metric used.
The distinction is important: the $550 billion refers to the projected increase in financial wealth, not the absolute size of the Mexican investable asset market. Even so, the figure illustrates the magnitude of the opportunity opening up for banks, asset managers, family offices, independent advisors, and other participants in the wealth management ecosystem.
BCG specifically identifies the client segment holding between $250,000 and $5 million in financial assets as one of the areas with the highest potential for wealth managers in emerging markets. These are clients who have outgrown traditional deposit products but do not always receive the level of service that private banking reserves for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
This expansion of financial wealth coincides with a generational transition that will add complexity to the relationship between families and their advisors.
Inheriting No Longer Simply Means Receiving
Wealth succession has historically been understood as a relatively straightforward process: determining who inherits, how assets are distributed, and what legal and tax obligations apply.
That model is proving insufficient. BCG notes that today’s families hold assets distributed across various asset classes and jurisdictions, while family members are increasingly dispersed geographically, with differing professional and business interests. As a result, succession ceases to be a single event and becomes an ongoing process of estate architecture that can span years.
The friction can be especially evident in family businesses. For the founder, the company often simultaneously represents ownership, control, identity, and personal wealth. For successors, however, that same bond does not necessarily exist. Some may wish to continue running the business; others may prefer to sell, diversify, or use a portion of the wealth to pursue new ventures.
Consequently, dividing wealth into equal shares does not guarantee that its value will be preserved. A distribution that appears equitable among heirs can end up fragmenting ownership, weakening control, or complicating decision-making—especially when family businesses, illiquid assets, or cross-border investments are involved.
From Portfolio Manager to Wealth Architect
In this new environment, the role of the financial advisor is also changing. BCG suggests that the wealth managers best prepared for the next stage must evolve from product providers into wealth system architects. Their role will need to integrate ownership and control mechanisms, family governance structures, cross-border tax and legal considerations, and long-term objectives.
The difference is substantial: managing a portfolio involves deciding how much to invest in equities, fixed income, alternative assets, or cash. Managing a succession involves answering far more complex questions: who gets to decide on those assets, under what rules, to what ends, and how the next generation will be prepared to manage them.
Through this process, tools traditionally associated with family offices and major family enterprises are coming to the forefront: family constitutions, family councils, formal governance frameworks, the separation of ownership, control, and management, financial education for heirs, and early preparation of the next generation.
Advisory work is also acquiring an interpersonal dimension. Conversations around leadership, fairness, control, and the purpose of family wealth can be difficult. An advisor can serve as a neutral third party capable of facilitating agreements and translating family goals into concrete wealth structures.
BCG emphasizes that elements such as family values, relationships, reputation, and institutional knowledge are also part of the estate, yet they are not transferred automatically. To survive the founding generation, they must be transmitted through education, mentorship, gradual involvement in decision-making, and early exposure to family governance structures.
Therein lies one of the primary risks of the great wealth transfer: capital passing from one generation to the next faster than the capacity to manage it.
Furthermore, the new generation enters this process with a different approach to investing. Capgemini’s research shows that younger investors have greater exposure to alternative assets than previous generations, signaling shifts in portfolio composition as wealth moves across hands.
For asset managers, this means succession cannot be treated solely as a preservation issue. It will also be necessary to understand what the new owners intend to do with the capital they receive.
This phenomenon presents a major opportunity for the financial industry. Wealth growth in Mexico and other emerging markets, combined with intergenerational transfer, can expand the potential client base for private banks, independent managers, family offices, and investment platforms.
Yet it also raises expectations: clients receiving the wealth will not necessarily remain with the same manager who served their parents. The transfer of assets can easily turn into a transfer of financial relationships. Institutions that engage with the next generation before the succession takes place will have a significantly higher chance of retaining those assets.
Nor will competition be limited to traditional banks. Family offices, independent advisors, and digital platforms are expanding the range of alternatives available to investors, while differentiation begins to shift from product access to the ability to deliver comprehensive wealth solutions.
The great wealth transfer will therefore not be merely a demographic or familial event. It will also represent one of the largest redistributions of client relationships and assets in the history of the wealth management industry.
The challenge for families will be ensuring that their wealth outlasts its founders. For advisors, it will be proving they can offer more than just money management. In the coming decades, preserving a fortune will depend less on who inherits it than on how well the structure built to support it is designed.
Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Portugal, Italy, and Greece are the jurisdictions with the best residency programs for high-net-worth individuals and investors, according to the 2026 Global Residency Programs Index produced by Global Citizen Solutions (GCS). “We built the index around five weighted pillars: quality of life, procedure, mobility, investment, and compliance and credibility, because no single number tells the whole story of a residency program. For that very reason, quality of life carries the greatest weight among all the pillars in our model, tied with procedure,” explains Laura Madrid, Lead Researcher at the Global Intelligence Unit at Global Citizen.
The Top Five, at a Glance
According to the firm, Switzerland’s edge comes from a perfect score in Compliance & Credibility, paired with near-elite quality of life, top-tier mobility, and a strong fiscal profile. It ranks among the safest and most politically stable countries in the world; the trade-off is one of the highest costs of living, offset by exceptional healthcare, world-class schools, and a family-friendly culture oriented around the outdoors across four distinct Alpine seasons.
Second place is occupied by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a region that stands out in fiscal matters. It offers zero personal income tax and a comparatively low entry threshold, available through routes such as real estate investment. Added to this is strong mobility and one of the lowest-crime environments in the world, alongside a large international expat community and family-oriented infrastructure. Its Golden Visa offers only a renewable residency status, as Emirati nationality is reserved for exceptional cases nominated by the government and is not something an investor can work toward.
In third place, Portugal’s Golden Visa offers a high quality of life, near-maximum mobility thanks to a full EU/Schengen passport, and a pathway to citizenship of between seven and ten years depending on nationality. According to the GCS study, it can be obtained through a qualifying investment fund (minimum of €500,000 in a private equity or venture capital fund investing in Portuguese companies), a cultural donation (starting at around €200,000), a contribution to scientific research, or an investment tied to job creation. “It remains Europe’s best value-for-money option, with a moderate cost of living, a mild Atlantic climate, and a welcoming culture for families relocating from abroad, making it the highest-ranked route in the EU,” they indicate.
Italy achieves fourth position thanks to its process and the strength of its passport, rather than its price. Its Investor Visa offers a fast and flexible menu of qualifying investments (government bonds, corporate shares, startups, or a philanthropic donation), combined with strong mobility within the EU. According to analysts at the firm, that combination offsets a costlier and less tax-efficient entry.
Finally, Greece is, by a wide margin, the fastest-processing program in the index, combined with strong mobility. Its Mediterranean climate, welcoming culture, and relaxed, community-centered lifestyle make it a great choice for families prioritizing sunshine and hospitality. Of the top five, it is the only one where real estate remains the primary route—with the threshold for qualifying property raised to €800,000 in prime areas as of September 2024—though an alternative investment in startups is now also available.
The Americas: North, South, and Central
The U.S. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (83.9) and the E-2 Treaty Investor visa (82.6) remain solid options, but both fall outside the global top 10 this year, sitting in 27th and 32nd place, respectively. Canada’s Quebec Investor and Provincial routes round out the global top 10 in 10th place (88.6), boasting quality-of-life scores among the highest in the Index—a relevant comparison for Americans weighing a move within the region.
Additionally, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic offer accessible, lower-cost residency with fast processes and strong lifestyle appeal, though none scores high enough to reach the top global tier.
“Some of this year’s fastest programs are found in Latin America: the Dominican Republic can process applications in as little as 45 to 90 days, Costa Rica and Mexico require only a light, ongoing connection to the country, and Brazil combines an eight-month timeframe with a fast track toward naturalization. For a growing number of our clients, overseas residency is not simply a financial instrument; it is a life decision. Cost and compliance matter, but so does how one actually lives day-to-day in a new country: the schools, healthcare, and community. That is precisely what this year’s Index was built to capture: destinations like Italy, Portugal, and Greece top the table because of the combination of their strengths, and because of how good daily life actually feels,” notes Patricia Casaburi, CEO of Global Citizen Solutions.
August—a summer month for Europe—has begun with volatility in financial markets coexisting with risk appetite. “The momentum from the final stretch of the previous month was led by the tech sector on Wall Street, whose solid earnings offset inflationary rigidity. Despite this, the S&P 500 recorded a slight monthly dip for the second consecutive month, standing 2% below its all-time highs, while the Fear and Greed Index positioned itself at 39/100. Regarding energy, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell to 308 million barrels, its lowest level since 1983, and pushed crude oil to its largest monthly gain since March,” notes Felipe Mendoza, market analyst at EBC Financial Group.
For this expert, in the coming weeks we will see a two-phase volatility scenario: “A first half of August dominated by technical adjustments, profit-taking, and pressure toward fixed-income assets, followed by a second half of the month where Nvidia’s guidance and the digestion of inflation data could reactivate the bullish trend toward the final quarter of the year.”
In his view, the main risk to this projection is concentrated in the military escalation with Iran, the contradictory narrative surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and its potential repercussions on global crude oil supply. Given this context, two asset classes take center stage: gold and the dollar.
Gold: From All-Time Highs to Readjustment in Six Months
Attention on gold stems from its start to the year as one of the most attractive and top-performing assets, only to close out the first half of 2026 by registering a significant correction. “Gold has experienced a remarkable trend reversal during the first half of 2026. After reaching an intraday all-time high of $5,595 per ounce on January 29, prices suffered a sharp correction and, at the time of writing in early July, are trading below the level at which they began the year. Although the magnitude of the correction has unsettled investors, we consider it a healthy readjustment rather than the end of the structural bull market,” explains Nitesh Shah, Head of Commodities and Macroeconomic Research at WisdomTree.
According to his analysis, the extraordinary valuation premium generated during the 2025–26 rally has largely unwound, leaving gold much closer to its estimated fair value. “We anticipate that gold’s next phase will be determined primarily by macroeconomic fundamentals, rather than exceptional investor demand,” he clarifies.
For Shah, now that valuations have normalized, their outlook turns back to the macroeconomic variables that historically have accounted for most of the variation in gold prices. “Gold could face intermittent short-term headwinds as markets continue to reassess the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. The latest forecasts from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and the accompanying communications were interpreted as a sign that the Fed would adopt a somewhat more hawkish stance, leading futures markets to price in rate hikes as early as September,” the WisdomTree expert points out.
Consequently, according to current consensus forecasts, the firm’s model points to a recovery reaching $4,563 per ounce by the second quarter of 2027, “although sensitivity analysis shows how different macroeconomic scenarios could substantially alter that trajectory,” Shah adds.
Macroeconomics and the Dollar Outlook
These reflections on gold are connected to the behavior of the dollar. As Shah acknowledges, a large part of gold’s weakness during 2026 can be explained by the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. “The dollar strengthened to reach its highest level in over a year, driven by the relative energy security of the United States during the conflict with Iran, outperforming many other currencies typically considered safe havens,” he recalls.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, most experts agree that the short-term macroeconomic outlook remains positive for the dollar. “U.S. economic activity has held up better than that of other major economies, but inflation remains persistent and the market has had to price in a tighter Fed path. This movement in relative yields has already contributed to the dollar breaking above its previous trading range and is, broadly speaking, consistent with our central scenario of riding dollar strength through the end of 2026,” argues David Rees, Head of Global Economics at Schroders.
In this regard, Schroders’ baseline forecast projects the dollar to rise throughout 2026 before easing slightly in 2027. “Our assumptions for year-end 2026, published at the time, were: GBPUSD at 1.21, EURUSD at 1.07, USDRMB at 7.09, and USDJPY at 167.8. Our working hypothesis for year-end 2027 anticipates the dollar giving back part of those gains—reaching 1.27, 1.12, 7.03, and 162.5, respectively—as weakening inflationary pressures provide relief to a hawkish Fed, and a shift toward a more forward-looking policy agenda reinstates rate cuts in 2027,” Rees notes.
Furthermore, according to Rees, more broadly speaking, if the euphoria in U.S. markets comes to an end, there are good reasons to believe the dollar could suffer the consequences. “A weaker dollar carries significant implications for all investors globally. These range from immediate portfolio impacts to longer-term effects on asset returns as economies, sectors, and individual companies adapt to a lower-value dollar,” he indicates.
The World Cup ended just a few weeks ago. Fans celebrated the champion, the cameras stopped rolling, and brands began preparing for the next sports season. From the capital markets’ perspective, however, the most interesting match is just getting started.
What remains once the competition ends isn’t just the sporting results. Broadcasting contracts, sponsorship agreements, brand licenses, commercial rights, and other assets capable of generating income for years to come all remain in place. The relevant question for asset managers and financial institutions is no longer how much money sports move, but what characteristics that income must have to become an asset with value for the capital markets.
The answer marks an important distinction. The market doesn’t finance the excitement a club or tournament generates; it finances the capacity of certain economic rights to produce identifiable, predictable, and legally protected cash flows.
The transformation of sport into a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars has been closely tied to the development and protection of intangible assets. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) notes that trademarks, copyright, and broadcasting rights are essential tools for protecting and commercializing the economic value of sport through licensing, merchandising, and commercial agreements.
This evolution is also reflected in the numbers. The world’s 20 highest-earning football clubs generated a combined €12.4 billion during the 2024/2025 season, according to the 2026 edition of the Deloitte Football Money League. Of that total, €5.3 billion came from commercial activities, €4.7 billion from broadcasting rights, and €2.4 billion from stadium-related revenue.
Figure 1. Distribution of revenue among leading football clubs (2024/2025)
Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2026
Beyond their sheer size, these figures reveal a fundamental point: modern sport has significantly diversified its revenue sources. This diversity doesn’t automatically turn that income into financeable assets, but it does broaden the universe of economic rights worth analyzing from a capital markets perspective.
When a revenue stream becomes a financial asset
From an asset manager’s perspective, the real value doesn’t lie in the stadium, the crest, or a team’s popularity. It lies in the quality of the cash flow.
The methodologies developed by agencies such as Fitch Ratings to evaluate transactions involving sports franchises, leagues, and facilities show that the analysis centers on certain revenue streams’ capacity to support financial obligations.
Broadly speaking, several attributes increase a revenue stream’s appeal for potential financial structuring.
These attributes help explain why two sports organizations with similar revenue levels can have completely different financial profiles. A multi-year broadcasting contract with a high-quality counterparty offers very different stability than income tied exclusively to ticket sales or sporting performance.
The role of asset securitization
This is precisely where securitization becomes relevant.
Far from creating value on its own, asset securitization makes it possible to structure certain economic rights and turn them into financial instruments backed by future cash flows. In other words, it converts income that would be received over time into financing capacity today.
For sports organizations, this can offer an alternative way to finance infrastructure, refinance debt, develop new business lines, or accelerate growth projects without relying exclusively on traditional bank financing.
That said, a transaction’s viability depends less on the organization’s fame and more on the quality of the underlying cash flows, the legal structure, and the protection mechanisms built in for investors.
A practical case: Inter Milan
These concepts stop being theoretical once you see them applied to a real transaction. One of the most illustrative examples is Inter Media and Communication S.p.A, the company created to manage certain broadcasting and commercial revenue for FC Internazionale Milano.
More than just financing a football club, the transaction shows how certain economic rights can be organized through a structure designed to give investors a clearly identifiable repayment source. In 2017, the company issued €300 million in senior secured notes aimed at institutional investors. It followed up in 2022 with a new issuance of €415 million, with proceeds used mainly to refinance existing debt and strengthen the group’s financial structure.
What makes this transaction interesting isn’t just its size. The structure was backed by identifiable income from broadcasting and sponsorship contracts, managed through specific collection and protection mechanisms for noteholders. This approach partially ring-fenced those cashflows from the rest of the club’s operating activity and gave investors greater visibility into the repayment source.
The case shows that the capital markets don’t simply finance a prestigious sports brand. They finance structures backed by economic rights whose stability and traceability can be objectively analyzed.
A lesson that goes beyond sport
The sports industry is an excellent laboratory for understanding a broader capital markets trend.
Increasingly, economic value is concentrated in intangible assets capable of generating recurring income: content, intellectual property, commercial contracts, or exploitation rights. Securitization offers a tool for channeling part of that value into the capital markets through structures designed to turn future cashflows into financing today.
Sport illustrates this shift with particular clarity. Not because it’s an exceptional industry, but because it shows how markets no longer look only at physical assets, but at the capacity of certain economic rights to produce stable, structurable cashflows.
The World Cup may be over, but it leaves behind a lesson that goes beyond sport. As industries generate a growing share of their value from contracts, intellectual property, and other economic rights, the challenge for the capital markets shifts from identifying physical assets to understanding the quality of the cashflows those assets can generate.
In that context, securitization represents much more than a financing alternative. It’s a tool that connects certain income-generating assets with investors seeking identifiable, structured, and transparent cash flows.
Markets don’t invest in the excitement of sport; they invest in the quality of the cashflows that excitement can generate. Perhaps that’s the main financial lesson the World Cup leaves behind: The match ends on the pitch, but the real economic value continues long after the final whistle.
About FlexFunds
For more than 15 years, FlexFundshas worked alongside asset managers and financial institutions to design solutions that facilitate access to the capital markets through investment vehicles built to international distribution standards.
The evolution of industries like sports shows that financial structuring and securitization continue to expand the possibilities for turning certain economic rights into financing and investment solutions. Understanding the nature of the underlying cashflows and selecting the right structure is a key element for the success of this type of transaction.
To learn more about FlexFunds’ asset securitization program, visit www.flexfunds.com or contact our team of specialists.
The formula for preserving a major fortune has remained almost infallible and has been passed down through generations for decades: real estate, family businesses, stocks, bonds, and liquidity. Diversification has been important, but wealth tends to stay close to what the family knows and directly controls. However, the generation of “new rich” is altering this equation.
Millennial and Gen Z heirs, as well as new entrepreneurs who have built their fortunes around technology, venture creation, and financial assets, are incorporating a much broader mix of investments: private equity, private credit, venture capital, digital assets, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, gold, and thematic strategies.
This phenomenon is already beginning to transform the wealth management industry. Furthermore, the shift is happening at an exceptional moment: the world is entering a wealth transfer of historic proportions. The Capgemini World Wealth Report 2025 estimates that $83.5 trillion in wealth will be transferred to new generations by 2048. The study analyzed the opinions of 6,472 high-net-worth investors, of which 5,473 belong to the so-called next-gen categories.
The scale of this movement is so massive that it is no longer just about who will inherit the money. The question the financial industry is beginning to ask is what this new generation will do with it. A series of emerging trends, if consolidated, could dominate the coming decades. Here are some of them.
The First Shift: Less Dependence on Stocks and Bonds
One of the most revealing studies for understanding the generational gap comes from Bank of America Private Bank. Its 2026 study found that 67% of young investors—Gen Z and Millennials aged 21 to 45—believe that traditional stocks and bonds are no longer sufficient to achieve above-average returns. The contrast with older generations is striking: young investors allocate around 15% of their portfolios to alternative investments and 13% to cryptocurrencies, whereas older generations maintain a significantly higher proportion in traditional stocks.
Furthermore, 88% of wealthy young investors state that they will likely increase their exposure to alternative assets over the next few years, compared to just 15% among boomers and older generations. But this trend did not appear overnight. In BofA’s previous study from 2024, young investors allocated 17% of their portfolios to alternatives, compared to 5% among those over 44. In stocks and bonds, the ratio was virtually inverted: 47% for younger investors versus 74% for older ones.
The takeaway for asset managers is clear: diversification no longer simply means combining stocks, bonds, and cash. For the new high-net-worth investor, diversification also means exposure to private companies, infrastructure, digital assets, real assets, and technological trends.
Crypto Assets Leave Curiosity Status Behind
Among wealthy individuals of the new generations, one of the most obvious differences from their predecessors emerges. In 2026, 58% of young investors surveyed by BofA already own cryptocurrencies, up from 49% in 2024. Moreover, 92% say they either own them or are interested in doing so. Even more telling: 29% identify cryptocurrencies as the top wealth-creation opportunity for young investors. This does not mean the new rich have abandoned prudence.
In fact, the behavior of high-net-worth individuals demonstrates something more interesting: digital assets are evolving from a fringe bet into a potential component of a much broader wealth architecture. The family office landscape itself confirms this transition. The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026, based on 307 family offices across more than 30 markets with an average family wealth of $2.7 billion, found that 44% of family offices with cryptocurrency exposure now consider these assets part of their strategic allocation.
The invested proportion remains generally small, around 1%, but the conceptual shift is significant: crypto assets are no longer necessarily viewed as an exception, but as a potential asset class within the wealth architecture.
From the Family Property to the Global Portfolio
There is another particularly key distinction among younger wealthy generations: the traditional Latin American wealth model was tightly bound to family businesses, real estate, and domestic assets. However, the new investor holds a far more global perspective. Research published in June 2026 by the CFA Institute on Latin American family offices concludes that these vehicles are evolving from structures focused primarily on wealth preservation into strategic wealth platforms, driven in part by younger generations seeking diversification, private markets, and better risk-adjusted returns outside the traditional family businesses.
This shift is particularly relevant for Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile; the research indicates that a large portion of major fortunes in Latin America remains in the first or second generation. This means the wealth professionalization process is far from complete. But the new generation is introducing another variable: global exposure.
Travel, international education, professional experience in other markets, and engagement with new technologies are broadening the investment universe that heirs consider viable. In Mexico, for instance, this can translate into a mix of a local family business, an international financial portfolio, alternative investments, offshore structures, and direct stakes in global companies. The family wealth is not necessarily abandoned—it is given a second layer.
And within the concept of legacy lies one of the most important nuances of the story. It would be a journalistic mistake to portray the younger generations as investors eager to liquidate their parents’ legacy to buy cryptocurrencies or tech stocks; on the contrary, evidence points to something far more sophisticated.
The CFA Institute research on Latin America notes that the shift among young heirs is not simply a preference for monetizing wealth over preserving legacy. Rather, it represents a search for more options and greater diversification. In other words: the old rich ask, “How do I preserve what I built?” while the new rich ask, “How do I preserve this while using it to build something new?”
AI Becomes the New Arena of Competition
Artificial intelligence is perhaps the clearest example of how new generations think in terms of structural themes rather than purely financial instruments. The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 shows that family offices are increasing their interest in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, energy, and resources. In Latin America, 61% of family offices plan to adjust their strategic asset allocation during 2026, with artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and energy/resources standing out as the top three investment trends.
This data is significant because it proves that the transformation is not limited to young investors alone. The influence of the new generation is beginning to filter through to the institutional structures of the families themselves. The family office thus becomes a laboratory where two philosophies coexist: capital preservation and the pursuit of the industries that will drive the next wealth cycle. Yet paradoxically, while younger individuals seek higher risk and new asset classes, traditional investors retain an advantage that younger generations still need to develop: accumulated experience.
Family wealth is often built around decades of entrepreneurial knowledge, relationships, productive assets, and the ability to weather different economic cycles. Therefore, the model that seems to be emerging is not a total replacement of one generation by another, but rather a hybridization. The old rich bring preservation, discipline, experience, and wealth governance. The new rich contribute technology, globalization, alternatives, speed, and new information sources. The result can be a far more sophisticated portfolio.
Herein lies what is likely the greatest risk for the wealth management industry: it is not that younger generations are less interested in wealth, but that they want to participate in decisions earlier. The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 reveals a paradox: although families recognize the importance of preparing heirs, only 27% have a structured process to educate and prepare the next generation for future responsibilities. Furthermore, only 35% have a formal succession plan for the family office itself.
The consequence can be wealth fragmentation: an heir might retain the family business while moving financial investments to a different institution. They might also use a family office for one portion of their wealth, a digital platform for another, a specialized manager for private equity, and an offshore institution for international assets. The client who once concentrated virtually their entire wealth relationship within a single institution can now split it across multiple providers—presenting one of the greatest challenges for traditional private banking.
The New Wealth Map
This generational transition is, moreover, taking place over an ever-expanding wealth base. The UBS Global Wealth Report 2026 estimates that personal wealth worldwide increased by 10.8% during 2025, marking the highest growth rate since 2017. Additionally, the number of US dollar millionaires grew by nearly one million people, equivalent to over 2,600 new millionaires every day. Consequently, the potential market for the new generation of managers consists not only of heirs to great fortunes, but also an increasing number of individuals who built their wealth outside traditional sectors.
Technology, entrepreneurship, private equity, startups, fintech, artificial intelligence, and capital markets are giving rise to new fortunes that do not necessarily share the financial culture of previous generations. That is where the true “new rich” emerges—and it is not solely the inheriting child. It is also the tech entrepreneur, the startup founder, the executive awarded company stock, the investor who built financial wealth, or the entrepreneur who exited their business.
In the end, the gap between the old rich and the new rich may be smaller than it appears, as both seek to preserve and grow their wealth, pursue diversification, aim to protect their families, and require efficient tax, estate, and structural planning.
The key difference lies in what they consider a solid portfolio and how they define wealth preservation: for the previous generation, preserving meant primarily avoiding loss, whereas for the next generation, preserving can mean maintaining purchasing power, diversifying globally, and staying invested in the industries creating future wealth.
Thus, rather than a battle between “old rich” and “new rich,” what is unfolding is a transfer of power within the wealth architecture. And that transfer is only just beginning. The next major battle for the wealth management industry will not merely be about managing more assets—it will be about becoming the trusted advisor to a new generation that intends to manage its wealth in a radically different way.
Multifonds announced that National Bank of Canada, one of Canada’s six systemically important banks, selected them to modernize its fund accounting operations and support the continuous growth of its ETF business. As one of Canada’s six systemically important banks, National Bank holds a significant presence in the Canadian wealth management and institutional services market. Its fund and ETF administration business supports fund managers in key operational functions, spanning fund accounting, transfer agency and record keeping, basket creation, financial statements, and tax support.
Driving Growth in the Canadian Market
Following an exhaustive evaluation process and proof-of-concept, the key factor was Multifonds’ fund accounting capabilities and its experience in supporting complex multi-asset fund operations. Supporting more than 40,000 funds across over 35 jurisdictions, the firm aims to deliver the scale, flexibility, and global expertise needed to address National Bank’s needs in the Canadian market and support its future product development ambitions. This measure allows National Bank to replace siloed systems with a centralized platform, creating a stronger foundation to reinforce operational resilience, accelerate the onboarding of new products, and deliver a more consistent service, they noted in the press release.
Thus, they highlighted, by managing fund and ETF accounting on a single platform, National Bank can reduce operational fragmentation, streamline processing, and maintain stronger oversight throughout the entire fund administration lifecycle.
Multifonds Global Accounting provides real-time processing, exception-driven workflows, and over 350 user-configurable controls, helping teams perform exception-based oversight across net asset value (NAV) calculation, valuation, and distribution processes.
Developing ETF NAV Operation Capabilities
As demand for ETFs continues to grow, National Bank is better positioned to expand its ETF net asset value (NAV) operations with greater control and responsiveness, Multifonds added. Over time, the platform reduces manual intervention in key valuation processes, improves exception monitoring, and increases the consistency of accounting records. Likewise, it enables more flexible and automated data exchange with external providers, improving the timeliness and quality of required downstream data, while seamlessly integrating capital influx activities from external portals. This helps accelerate processing cycles and optimize operational capacity as volumes increase.
This is what Nancy Paquet, Executive Vice President of Wealth Management at National Bank of Canada, comments: “This collaboration with Multifonds represents an important milestone in modernizing our technological capabilities. By adopting a platform designed to respond to the growing demands of the Canadian market, we are strengthening our operational efficiency and our ability to offer innovative solutions to our clients. This initiative will support the growth of our fund and ETF administration activities while optimizing our internal processes.”
“We are very proud to collaborate with National Bank of Canada in the implementation of a next-generation fund accounting platform. The Canadian market is distinguished by the sophistication of its fund structures, especially in the ETF space. Thanks to our flexible and scalable architecture, NBC will benefit from a solution capable of managing current complexity and, at the same time, adapting to future needs. This agreement demonstrates National Bank’s commitment to investing in top-tier technology to support its expansion and that of its clients,” concluded Oded Weiss, CEO of Multifonds.
Andersen Group Inc., one of the fastest-growing global professional services firms, today announced the acquisition of Andersen Mexico, a leading tax and legal advisory firm, along with five U.S.-based Andersen Consulting firms (Clareo, BD Emerson, Daniels Consulting Group, Endeavor Management, and Zenger Folkman), reinforcing its integrated service platform and accelerating the growth of its consulting division.
The transactions are expected to contribute approximately $34.5 million in annualized revenue, bringing the total annualized revenue from acquisitions announced since Andersen’s Q1 update to approximately $67 million. The acquisition of Andersen Mexico expands the company’s presence in one of North America’s most important markets, strengthening its ability to provide integrated tax, legal, and business advisory services to multinationals and growing companies.
The other five acquisitions expand Andersen Consulting’s capabilities in the United States across various high-growth disciplines. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation: leveraging AI and emerging technologies to modernize operations, enhance decision-making, and accelerate digital transformation. Strategy, Innovation, and Growth: supporting organizations in defining strategy, unlocking new growth opportunities, and reinforcing competitive advantage. Enterprise and Financial Transformation: optimizing operational and financial performance through business transformation, process optimization, and technological enablement. Cybersecurity: reinforcing cyber resilience by helping manage cyber risk, regulatory compliance, and critical asset protection. Finally, Human Capital and Organizational Transformation: developing high-performance organizations by strengthening leadership, aligning talent with business strategy, and driving organizational change management.
These transactions reflect the strength of Andersen’s acquisition strategy and its ongoing investment in the consulting space. Andersen Consulting now boasts more than 37,000 professionals worldwide, and the company continues to evaluate over 27 consulting firms at various stages of negotiation and integration. Management is also driving acquisitions across tax, legal, valuation, and consulting services in key global markets, supporting sustained revenue growth, margin expansion, and long-term shareholder value.
“Our strategy continues to gain momentum as we build one of the world’s leading integrated professional services organizations,” said Mark L. Vorsatz, Chairman and CEO of Andersen Group Inc. “The acquisition of Andersen Mexico strengthens our tax and legal platform in one of North America’s most relevant markets, while the addition of the five Andersen Consulting firms expands our capabilities in high-growth disciplines. Together, these acquisitions enhance our ability to deliver integrated solutions to clients worldwide, reinforce our competitive position, and support our long-term growth strategy,” he concluded.
Looking ahead, Andersen expects acquisitions to remain a key growth engine alongside its ongoing organic expansion. The combination of a robust acquisition pipeline, the continued expansion of Andersen Consulting, and increasing cross-selling opportunities across service lines position the company to sustain solid long-term growth.
These transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Photo courtesyMario González, Head of Iberia, US Offshore & Latam at Capital Group
Independence and flexibility are the words Mario González, Head of Iberia, US Offshore & Latam at Capital Group, repeats most often when detailing the firm’s business strategy. González observes that clients are increasingly leaning toward working with fewer firms, expecting them to become more involved in aspects that extend beyond capital management.
In this interview with Funds Society, he highlights the growth potential that the Iberia, Latam, and US Offshore regions hold for Capital Group, as well as its expansion plans in alternatives and ETFs.
Interview
You have consolidated the transition toward new leadership at the firm. What momentum is Mike Gitlin bringing to Capital Group’s project?
Mike has been CEO for three years. He was previously our head of fixed income and has been with Capital Group for about 10 years. He transformed our fixed income business significantly, doubling its assets: we went from roughly $250–300 billion to over $600 billion today. For us, leadership changes are a natural process. We are in our fifth or sixth generation of leadership. We are independent, a partnership. This type of process impacts our business far less than it does our competitors. Mike has introduced a very clear commitment to the business outside the United States, alongside a sharp focus on the client, who increasingly wants to work with fewer managers and under a partnership format.
I think Mike has identified this trend very well: becoming what we call a “partner of choice”—that is, moving beyond being a mere vendor to build a close relationship with the client. Clients value having relevant strategies, but they are paying more and more attention to the value proposition outside of investment. In our case, we have reinvested in advisor education, for instance: helping our partners make their advisors more efficient, navigating major shifts in their business, and investing in tools… I believe these are major vectors that Mike has led.
In this context, what role do Iberia, US Offshore, and Latam play?
A very important one. We have a series of markets outside the United States—around 12 to 15—that are fundamental to our expansion, and these three are part of that group. Both Spain and US Offshore are highly consolidated markets. In Spain, we work with all the major distributors, and they increasingly view us as a partner rather than just a fund provider. The mandate with CaixaBank for its advisory business is one example. The team in Spain has grown; we are now 10 people. We rank among the top 10 brands, and even in the top five across certain metrics.
Regarding US Offshore, it is a very different market, but one with strong cultural and business ties. We see major banks in Spain and wealth managers expanding their teams dedicated to Latin American clients. It is a business increasingly concentrated in US Offshore, purely advisory-focused. We have a team of 10 people with a presence in Miami, New York, and Texas. While many of our competitors are cutting resources or changing distribution models, we are growing and reinvesting. In US Offshore, vehicle flexibility is essential. Ultimately, advisors in the United States have a portion of their business dedicated to offshore clients and another increasingly bulky domestic portion, and we offer investment solutions for both sides. When it comes to vehicles, flexibility is on the rise as demand grows for UCITS funds on the offshore side, or SMAs.
The Latam division is newer. In Mexico, Chile, Brazil, etc., we started at the end of last year in a very strategic manner. Capital Group often arrives late to markets—Spain is an example—but when we enter, we do so with a very long-term commitment. Here, we are heavily focused on three segments: institutional—the Afores, the AFPs, that is, the pension world; second, wealth management, with a strong presence from our global partners, where we maintain strong relationships with Santander, BBVA, UBS, and HSBC; and third, central banks and sovereign wealth funds. We have a strong focus on Mexico, which is structurally a very interesting market, particularly the Afores segment. We are also closely following the pension reform in Chile.
In which of these areas is there the most capacity for continued growth?
We have significant growth capacity across all three regions. In Spain, we have grown very consistently over the 12 years we have been in the market, but we believe there is increasing consolidation, and structurally, we are very well positioned. Another positive aspect of being independent is that we face no distractions. Many of our competitors have to focus on the next dividend or hitting short-term figures… That is not our case. If you lack scale, corporate transactions will occur, but we possess stability, independence, and scale, which provides us with a strong growth platform.
In Spain, we can and should keep growing within this partnership environment through new capabilities. Recently, the alliance with KKR in hybrid funds within the alternative investment space served as an example of innovation. In the future, we might bring over our active ETF range, which has seen immense success in the United States. And in Offshore, it is the same story: we continue growing and reinvesting. It is a very interesting region because it is strong in areas that Europe lacks. Speaking of the pension world, Mexico has a very solid model that serves as a benchmark for the region and other parts of the world. Latin America, in a selective manner, is very attractive to us; it is all about growth.
One of your most significant moves has been the agreement with KKR in private markets. How has this private credit and equity offering permeated the market?
It is a new asset category. We were the first to announce this type of alliance with an alternatives firm—in our case, KKR—and it is the first to translate into concrete products. We started in the United States, where we launched two public-private products focused on debt, and more recently, one focused on equity. Now, we are bringing this proposition to the international level.
Clients are attracted to the idea, but we need to work with them so they understand the role these solutions play within portfolios. It is not a pure building block they are traditionally accustomed to. What we offer is a first step for clients entering the alternative space. In the United States, distribution is much simpler because the vehicle can be distributed nationwide. In Europe, the landscape of vehicles and regulation is somewhat more complex. Nevertheless, strategies that take a holistic view of the entire debt market—both private debt and public debt—will become much more widespread in the market going forward.
And what type of underlying asset is the local buyer demanding most?
There is significant concern about market concentration, which is sparking very interesting debates. Whether passive management is the best way to gain market exposure is a question we frequently discuss with our clients globally. We see clients in certain asset classes—for instance, US equities—where that concentration is even more pronounced, and they are beginning to realize that high-quality active management can be compelling. Not all active management is good, but high-quality active management in the current market environment can be very attractive. There is exposure to equities, US equities, diversification outside the United States, increasing interest in European equities, and emerging markets could potentially be the next major growth engine. In short, we are seeing strong demand.
Fixed income is once again providing diversification and income, meaning we observe interesting opportunities despite tight pricing. On the credit side, for example, we detect significant demand. Even in emerging market debt, which began strategically in the institutional space, it is now permeating private banking and wealth management, where it is starting to be viewed more structurally in portfolios. We are also seeing interest in blend strategies.
Has it been straightforward to introduce these hybrid vehicles into US Offshore wealth management structures?
We are in a phase of working with our clients to understand the role these vehicles can play in portfolios. Conceptually, however, the idea is very attractive. The vehicle structure also dictates which clients can access these types of products. These funds are structured as UCITS Part 2, meaning they require professional clients. Within that universe, adoption has been good, though we are in the early stages of these efforts, making the educational component highly relevant.
Midway through this year, there were efficiency adjustments in the European product lineup. What drove this decision?
We aligned our resources more efficiently. We do this periodically every 10 to 15 years. We review our product offering to ensure it remains efficient and aligned with client demand. For us, launching new strategies or altering existing ones is a rare occurrence. When we consider launching a product, we evaluate whether it will see demand 5, 10, or 15 years down the line. A similar logic applies to closing a fund. In the United States, our fund mortality rate is close to zero. In Europe, it is also quite low. This does not mean we do not innovate, but we focus on areas of the portfolio where we have deep expertise. Innovation is targeted. That is how we have grown over nearly 95 years: completely organically.
You reached $150 billion in active ETF assets under management in four years. Has this growth come from fresh capital?
We launched our active ETF platform on February 22, 2022, the day before the invasion of Ukraine. It has been a success. We rolled it out in stages. Today, we have 25 active ETFs, the vast majority of which—about 21—have over $1 billion in assets. It is almost entirely fresh money. We launched active ETFs in response to our clients. Some were advisors, primarily in the United States, while others wanted access to our strategies via the ETF wrapper. Almost all of it is new money—I would say over 80% of the assets under management in these products. We have added more than 50,000 new advisors in the United States who are buying our active ETFs.
Our partners, especially global ones, ask for flexibility in our strategies, so we decided to provide access to them through different vehicles. It was with that philosophy that we launched the active ETF platform. We also introduced structural innovations, such as our liquidity program. Furthermore, new client segments are coming aboard. In Mexico, for example, Afores are now permitted to invest in active ETFs, meaning institutional clients are paying attention to these vehicles. In Canada, we also have an institutional client expressing interest.
Are there plans to adapt this system to UCITS products?
We are currently exploring how to translate this offering outside the US market into the UCITS framework. We view this as something we must offer our clients over the medium to long term to gain market share in Europe and attract Latin American investors who prefer this format—all while offering flexible solutions to our clients in Europe and Asia. Looking ahead 5, 10, or 15 years, we believe active ETFs will play an important role outside the United States as well, and we want to be part of that growth.
Active ETFs in the European market represent an attractive segment over the medium and long term. We may not directly compare it to the trajectory in the United States, as every market and regulatory framework is distinct. There is significant reliance on regulatory developments, but initiatives like the EU’s Savings and Investments Union (SIU) could boost the adoption of these vehicles.
The launch of model portfolios composed 100% of active ETFs was a direct response to US RIAs. Are the Spanish and Latin American markets mature enough for distributors to delegate asset allocation to white-label model portfolios?
In the US market, we are seeing an increasing application of model portfolios, though perhaps not as extensively as in Spain. It offers numerous advantages, the most prominent being resource efficiency, allowing private bankers to focus on managing client relationships and acquiring new business while leaving investment implementation to specialized teams. This introduces a valuable level of specialization and industrialization.
In US Offshore, major American wealth managers are driving this model portfolio model forward, and adoption among bankers is growing incrementally. This represents another global trend we observe, not just in Spain. Another major shift worldwide is the migration toward Discretionary Portfolio Management Services (DPMs).
This shift seeks industrialization, standardized outcomes, regulatory risk protection, and better margins. The second trend within the advisory space is the movement toward model portfolios. Ultimately, three models emerge: the move toward independent advisory, transitioning clients to DPMs, and shifting to model portfolios. These three dynamics are unfolding across all markets with varying intensities. These shifts alter client requirements, introducing demand for greater customization. It is a very dynamic period, and one where we intend to compete actively.
