The Rudin Group & Brunswick Group on the Future of Wealth Management

April Rudin, founder of The Rudin Group, and Nick Rice, Partner at Brunswick Group, sat down to talk about the shifts taking place in global wealth management and why they decided to co-author a book on the subject.

Rudin explained how she launched her firm 17 years ago after spotting that wealth management branding was stuck in the past, full of clichés like chess pieces and yachts, and was unlikely to connect with future generations.  The Rudin Group now works across the buy-side and sell-side, advising financial institutions as well as wealthtechs on how to engage new audiences.

Rice, who started in journalism covering wealth and asset management for the Financial Times before moving to UBS and later Brunswick, brings the perspective of someone who has seen the industry evolve on both sides of the Atlantic. The pair have known each other for over a decade, first as journalist and source, later as client and advisor, and now as collaborators. When a publisher approached Rudin, she invited Rice to join forces on the book and together and interviewed more than 80 senior executives globally to capture a wide set of perspectives, not just their own.

Their book aims to be a practical playbook for wealth managers navigating a period of profound change. At the heart of their message is the generational wealth shift as Baby boomers are retiring and passing on assets, while younger generations, Gen X, millennials, and soon Gen Z, are building wealth through both inheritance and entrepreneurship. This transition opens up enormous opportunities, but also challenges, for wealth managers with Rudin and Rice arguing that wealthtech will be critical in bridging the gap, much as fintech has already transformed payments.

Technology, and particularly AI, is seen as a double-edged sword and while some expect it to replace human advisors, but both Rudin and Rice believe it will instead automate routine tasks and free up time for advisors to focus on what really matters: human relationships. Wealth management, they emphasise, will always be a relationship business, even if supported by digital tools. The book identifies several key opportunities shaping the industry, from demographics and retirement trends to digital adoption, alternative investments, sustainability, and the rising concentration of ultra-wealthy clients.

They also highlight how the pandemic accelerated change, normalised digital client interactions, and humanised advisor-client relationships in unexpected ways. Crucially, Rudin and Rice stress this is a global story as wealth managers face similar themes, however local executions will differ. For example, retirement dynamics in the US are not the same as in Europe or Asia, and firms will need to adapt themselves accordingly.

Their intended audience spans financial advisors and senior leaders in wealth management firms, but the insights are also useful for fintech founders, investors, and adjacent professionals like tax planners and insurers while for VCs and private equity firms, the book offers a consolidated view of where wealthtech is heading and where the biggest opportunities lie.

As traditional ways of doing business are being reshaped by demographics, technology, and client expectations, Rudin and Rice see wealth management at a crossroads and the book sets out a roadmap for firms that want to stay relevant and grow through this generational shift.