The ultra-high-net-worth population is set to grow 6.7% this year, pushing total wealth to $59.8 trillion. To handle growing complexity and volume, wealth management firms are increasingly turning to AI and digital platforms for portfolio modeling, financial planning, and routine analysis. But according to one Connecticut wealth advisor, technical expertise won’t be enough to serve UHNW clients well. What they need most is anticipatory judgment and coordinated leadership.
Michael Gold, founder and CEO of Gold Family Wealth in Westport, Connecticut, has built his practice around a core insight that he says distinguishes exceptional outcomes from costly disappointment: superior wealth planning results do not come from flashy products or personalities, but from controlling the decision-making process based on experience-honed skill and careful research.
“I think that’s what’s wrong with the industry. Wealth managers want to appease the clients,” he says. “I had three spine surgeries, so I had to deal with neurosurgeons. Not at one point did the surgeon say, ‘So what do you think about this or that?’ They did a suite of tests, MRIs, CAT scans, X-rays. Then they laid out all the options from conservative to aggressive”
Three converging forces are reshaping wealth management. Close to three-quarters of privately held business owners expect to transition or exit within the next decade, representing an estimated $10 to $14 trillion in potential exit-related wealth. Meanwhile, the “Great Wealth Transfer” is expected to peak around 2026, with $84 to $120 trillion projected to move between generations over the next two decades. Yet this massive capital movement is occurring while nearly half of all financial advisors plan to retire by 2035, creating what Gold calls “a structural gap at the precise moment UHNW families need the highest level of judgment, coordination and strategic leadership”.
Human Judgment Commands a Premium
Wealth management is heading into 2026 with solid markets but a business model under pressure, with AI and digital platforms reshaping how advice is delivered across most market segments. But Gold maintains that the ultra-high-net-worth space remains distinct.
“UHNW clients operate within a highly complex ecosystem, one influenced by legacy goals, intricate family dynamics, multigenerational coordination and the natural uncertainty of managing personal and business wealth,” he says. “These are not transactional issues. They cannot be automated or managed through standardized models.”
About 98% of advisers say new high-net-worth portfolios now include some level of customization. Personalization has shifted from a premium feature to a baseline expectation. Yet for families with $30 million or more in net worth, customization alone isn’t enough. Gold argues that what separates effective UHNW advisory work from superficial planning is the advisor’s ability to provide what he terms “anticipatory judgment,” the capacity to help families understand the full range of viable options, including tradeoffs, before irreversible decisions are made.
This approach has made Gold Family Wealth’s dedicated UHNW practice what he describes as “the intellectual engine of the entire organization.” The frameworks developed for complex families (advanced modeling, enterprise risk mapping, multigenerational governance and coordinated planning across multiple entities) aren’t siloed but instead elevate advisory standards across the entire firm.
Orchestrating Advisors
Gold emphasizes that effective UHNW wealth management demands what he calls “orchestration, not accumulation” of advisors.
“Even families with resources are frequently surrounded by highly credentialed professionals who operate independently, creating blind spots, misaligned incentives, and missed opportunities,” he says.
His role, as he defines it, is to help families clearly define what outcomes actually matter, coordinate professional specialists into a single aligned strategy, and make important decisions with confidence and precision.
High-net-worth households name financial planning, feeling confident their plans align with their overall life goals as areas where their wealth managers can deliver the highest value. For UHNW families specifically, the confidence in making informed decisions and considerations of their planning extend beyond traditional financial planning to cybersecurity threats, personal safety protections, and structuring wealth to benefit multiple future generations.
This holistic approach is gaining traction across the industry. More advisory firms are establishing dedicated UHNW practices, recognizing that serving this segment requires a different operating model, one designed for complexity and focused on specifically-tailored teams. Firms are hiring younger advisors to bridge the cultural and communication gap with Millennial and Gen Z heirs and building “multigenerational teams” to retain clients across generational transitions.
Private Markets and Personalization Drive 2026 Trends
The UHNW advisory environment Gold operates in is being reshaped by several key trends heading into 2026. About 83% of advisers say a robust suite of private asset offerings is becoming essential, with private markets moving from niche allocation to core portfolio component for wealthy families.
Technology is making basic wealth management more accessible across all segments through AI-advisors and digital platforms. However, Gold has positioned his Westport-based practice somewhat differently, bringing dedicated, human-first family office services typically reserved for billionaires to families with $20 million to $150 million in net worth. His model uses a network of specialists on a fractional basis, providing what he describes as “clarity, coordination, and governance traditionally reserved for the world’s most sophisticated families”
Gold has also formed a strategic partnership with Carson Partners, providing institutional-grade infrastructure, investment access, and advanced planning capabilities while preserving Gold Family Wealth’s independence and client-first approach. This structure, he explains, allows families to benefit from the depth and resources of a national platform without sacrificing the personalization and strategic leadership that define his firm’s culture.
The Selectivity Imperative
As UHNW families become more purposeful about their advisory relationships, Gold has observed a fundamental shift in what they’re seeking.
“Access to capital is no longer limited; access to good judgment is,” he notes. “As complexity increases, families are more selective, intentional, and discerning in selecting advisory relationships that can truly meet their needs”.
This increased selectivity is transforming competitive dynamics across wealth management. Families that have experienced advisory relationships that were technically competent but structurally fragmented are now asking more pointed questions: Who is truly responsible? Who has managed this level of complexity before? Who will stay engaged through inevitable transitions?
For Gold, these questions point to why senior or founder-level involvement matters, not as status symbol but as sign of accountability, continuity, and alignment. “UHNW families want to know that the people advising them today will stay engaged tomorrow and that leadership understands their world firsthand,” he says.
The Westport advisor’s focus on judgment, coordination, and strategic leadership reflects broader recognition across the industry that advisors measure progress differently than asset managers, prioritizing scale, efficiency, personalization and client engagement over pure alpha generation. Particularly for ultra-wealthy families navigating liquidity events, multigenerational governance, and complex family dynamics, the ability to provide what Gold calls “orchestrated financial services” may be the defining competitive advantage.
“The result is not just better financial structure. It is providing the confidence born from knowing nothing has been overlooked,” he says.
