How Banks Can Win Future Wealth Customers

There is one customer segment that represents one of the most significant long-term growth opportunities for regional and community banks — “high earners not rich yet,” or HENRYs. Typically in their 20s to early 40s, these rising professionals are advancing in their careers, increasing income and beginning to accumulate meaningful assets. Their wealth will expand substantially over the next decade through career progression, equity compensation, business ownership and inheritance.

The institutions that win will not wait until those balances mature. They will build trust now, often beginning in consumer banking, establishing primacy early so that as income grows, the broader relationship grows with it.

The Strategic Opportunity: Engage Before Wealth Fully Matures
This segment matters both now and in the future. Many HENRYs will become tomorrow’s business owners, commercial borrowers and high net worth households as career advancement, equity events and business transitions accelerate. In a webinar last fall, one of our clients, Miles Milton, chief wealth management officer for Hancock Whitney Bank, described the current moment as a dual transition. It’s not just a transfer of wealth but a transfer of decision-making responsibility to the next generation.

Yet HENRYs are frequently overlooked because they do not fit traditional wealth thresholds. Institutions often prioritize already affluent clients, leaving rising earners with inconsistent engagement at precisely the stage when relationships are forming.

At the same time, loyalty is far from guaranteed. Industry data shows that when wealth transfers, more than 70% of heirs change advisers within a year. That reality creates both risk and opportunity. Banks that engage HENRYs early, before major liquidity events occur, are far more likely to retain assets when those events arrive.

What HENRYs Expect: Digital Convenience Without Losing Human Guidance
HENRY customers expect a seamless blend of digital convenience and human guidance. They want the ability to self-serve, open accounts, move money and track goals on their own terms. But when decisions become complex, they value access to expert advice. As Milton observed, younger clients want autonomy, but they still value guidance, especially when the stakes are high.

This is not a generation rejecting advisers. It is a generation rejecting friction. They respond to intuitive financial planning tools that show progress toward goals, transparent fee structures and communications tailored to their life stage rather than generic product campaigns.

Banks often stumble by misreading these expectations. Two common missteps include:

• Leading with product specific marketing instead of holistic planning.
• Maintaining onboarding processes that feel outdated or fragmented.

If conversations revolve solely around rates or returns, institutions miss the opportunity to build trust through advice. When clients must repeat information across digital and in-person channels, confidence erodes quickly. HENRYs will not tolerate unnecessary complexity. Institutions that fail to deliver consistency and simplicity risk losing these rising earners long before their wealth fully matures.

Building Early Loyalty: Practical Steps Banks Can Take Now
Start by creating an intentional early-stage wealth pipeline. This may include planning tools, financial education and account aggregation that build trust before significant assets accumulate. Some institutions are already taking steps in this direction. Milton shared that his team is encouraging existing clients to bring their adult children into planning conversations earlier, strengthening multigenerational ties before wealth transfers occur. Others are hosting financial literacy seminars within their branches to engage rising earners and position the bank as a long-term adviser rather than a transactional provider.

Segment the pipeline based on income trajectory and future wealth indicators. Leading institutions are identifying clients whose income trajectory or financial profiles resemble future wealth households. Tools that surface a next best product or flag unmet needs allow teams to deepen relationships within their existing client base before assets leave the institution. Short, approachable coaching sessions, delivered virtually or in person, resonate strongly with this audience. Streamlined account opening remains essential. If the process is cumbersome or disjointed, HENRYs will look elsewhere.

For boards, the message is clear. The wealth landscape is shifting across generations, career paths and ownership transitions. Institutions that invest in HENRY relationships today will shape the composition of their wealth book for the next decade. With the right digital experience, meaningful guidance and a modern service model, banks can position themselves as the preferred financial home for this rising generation of earners long before they reach traditional high net worth thresholds.