Morgan Stanley and Citi Wealth gain assets as HSBC and Standard Chartered expand services

Morgan Stanley reported $232.4 billion in net new assets, while major wealth businesses continued to post stronger client growth. In the Gulf, Standard Chartered introduced cryptocurrency trading for eligible affluent clients, and HSBC Private Bank expanded its next-generation wealth offering. 

This brief covers 13 to 18  October 2026.

Morgan Stanley draws $232.4 billion in net new assets

Morgan Stanley reported third-quarter Wealth Management net new assets of $232.4 billion on 14 October, against $81.0 billion a year earlier, with just over half coming from flows linked to initial public offerings (IPOs). Fee-based flows rose to $80.5 billion from $41.9 billion, and net revenues reached $9.065 billion from $8.234 billion.

Fee-based flows of $80.5 billion are almost double the figure of a year earlier, and fee-based client assets rose to $3.155 trillion from $2.653 trillion. The growth in recurring-fee assets also shows that the quarter added revenue-bearing relationships as well as event-driven money.

Citi Wealth profit rises 93% on higher inflows

Citigroup reported on 13 October that wealth added $38 billion of preliminary net new investment assets in the third quarter, up 105% year-on-year (YoY) and more than double the $16 billion added in the second quarter. Net income rose 93% to $585 million on revenues of $3.27 billion, up 15%, and the return on tangible common equity reached 14.3%.

Net interest income of $2.3 billion, up 20% on higher deposit spreads and balances, supplied most of the segment’s revenue growth, while non-interest revenue of $1.0 billion rose 5% on higher investment fees. Deposit earnings therefore carried most of the profit increase, and the $759 billion of client investment assets, up 15% YoY, is the base on which investment fees accrue.

Bank of America adds 470 Private Bank relationships

Bank of America reported that its Private Bank added about 470 net new relationships in the third quarter with clients holding at least $3 million, while Merrill added about 4,200 net new households with at least $500,000 in assets. Total client balances in Global Wealth and Investment Management reached $5.06 trillion, up 9% YoY, including $816 billion at the Private Bank, and revenue rose 13% to $7.12 billion.

The two counts measure different client tiers: the 470 Private Bank additions sit at the upper end of the franchise, and the 4,200 Merrill households sit in the broader affluent segment. Asset management fees of $4.5 billion rose 16% and the pre-tax margin was 29%, so growth in clients at both tiers came alongside fee growth.

Nordea records private-banking net flows of $1.0 billion

Nordea reported Private Banking net flows of EUR 900 million ($1.0 billion) for the third quarter in its results released on 15 October. Group assets under management (AUM) rose 13% YoY to a record EUR 509 billion ($570 billion), and net fee and commission income rose 9% YoY to EUR 880 million ($986 million).

The release links the 9% rise in fee and commission income to 14% growth in savings income and to demand for Private Banking, which ties client flows to fee revenue at Nordea. The record EUR 509 billion ($570 billion) covers the whole group, while the EUR 900 million ($1.0 billion) net-flow figure relates specifically to private banking.

HSBC Private Bank launches digital programme for UHNW heirs

HSBC Private Bank announced The Future Family Leaders Digital Programme with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management in a press release dated 14 October. The online programme targets heirs aged 23 to 30 of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients and has six modules, two live and four asynchronous, covering family enterprise dynamics, the owner mindset, family unity and difficult conversations. The first global cohort runs from 3 November to 8 December.

Ida Liu, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Private Bank, said clients want their children to gain experience managing the demands of wealth before the transition, so the programme responds to a stated client request. The release cites $83.5 trillion expected to pass to the next generation, based on Capgemini's World Wealth Report 2025 and over 60 clients attended the May forum in Athens that preceded it.

Altrata finds UHNW philanthropy reached $250 billion

Altrata reported on 15 October in its High Net Worth Philanthropy 2026 report that UHNW individuals, those with net worth of $30 million or more, gave about $250 billion to philanthropy in 2025, up 32% from 2022. North America accounted for $115 billion, or 46% of the total, while giving since 2022 rose 35% in Europe and 42% in Asia.

The nearly 557,000 UHNW individuals accounted for 38% of global individual giving, making philanthropy a significant use of capital for this group. Asia recorded a 42% increase in giving since 2022, while New York, Seoul and Hong Kong led the report’s Giving Opportunity Index, underscoring the growing importance of Asian wealth centres in philanthropy. Gen Z and Millennials are also projected to rise from 6% to 37% of the global wealthy population by 2040.

Rothschild Financial Partners launches partner-owned adviser firm

Chicago-based Rothschild Wealth Partners and Singularity Financial Partners announced the launch of Rothschild Financial Partners on 14 October. The registered investment adviser targets established advisers and firm owners, offering shared operations, technology and compliance support while advisers keep their independence. Its partners own it, and the release states it has no private-equity capital. Three partner firms have joined since September.

Michael Roth, Chief Executive Officer of Rothschild Financial Partners, leads the firm, which gives advisers an ownership stake and shared infrastructure while allowing them to retain their client relationships. The three partner firms are expected to reach about $750 million in client assets by year-end, positioning the model as an alternative to selling to a larger consolidator.

Lesha Bank and ChinaAMC plan Qatar-China fund

Lesha Bank, a Qatar-based investment bank, and China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited (ChinaAMC (HK)) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 14 October to strengthen investment and capital market cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The flagship outcome is a Shari'a-compliant All China active equity fund offered in Qatar, with Lesha Bank as investment manager and ChinaAMC (HK) as sub-investment manager.

Tian Gan, Chief Executive Officer of ChinaAMC (HK), described the agreement as the firm's first strategic collaboration in the Middle East. The planned fund would give Qatari and GCC investors a Shari’a-compliant route into mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and overseas-listed Chinese equities, combining Lesha Bank’s regional distribution with ChinaAMC (HK)’s China investment expertise.

Standard Chartered opens cryptocurrency trading to UAE wealth clients

Standard Chartered announced on 14 October that eligible Professional Investor clients in the UAE can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether through their existing bank accounts, with custody and settlement handled by the bank in a closed-loop model. The bank holds licensing approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, and the service draws on its Wealth and Retail Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking businesses and on Zodia Markets, which SC Ventures backs.

Clients could already reach cryptocurrency exposure through exchange-traded funds, structured products and over-the-counter derivatives, so the launch adds direct digital holdings inside the same regulated bank relationship. The bank calls it the first offering of its kind by an international bank in the UAE and plans to extend it to other markets.

UBS survey shows wealthy US investors want more guidance

UBS released its Investor Watch survey on 14 October, based on 1,018 US investors with at least $1 million in investable assets and 500 US business owners. Investors highly optimistic about the US economy over the next 12 months rose to 64% from 55% in 2024, and business owners highly optimistic about their own business rose to 87% from 74%. Of investors, 88% say political views affect investment decisions.

Demand for adviser input is rising alongside the optimism: 91% of investors who say politics affect their decisions are considering portfolio changes before the midterm elections, and 84% of investors  want more guidance than usual, up from 74% in 2024. Among business owners, 63% worry the election could affect their exit strategy while 53% hold at least half their wealth in their company, linking election timing to succession planning.

What to watch next

Morgan Stanley’s next results will show whether the third-quarter surge in assets converts into durable fee-based relationships, particularly given that IPO-related money accounted for more than half of net new assets. HSBC Private Bank’s first Future Family Leaders cohort will test demand for next-generation education as part of the wealth-management relationship. Standard Chartered’s planned expansion of regulated cryptocurrency trading beyond the UAE will show how far digital assets can be integrated into mainstream private banking.

Overall, these developments will test whether this week’s growth in assets and new services translates into deeper, longer-term client relationships.