Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families, those with $20 million or more in financial assets, continue to represent an increasing portion of wealth in the United States. While making up just 0.3% of the U.S. population in 2024, UHNW investors account for nearly one-quarter (24.7%) of all financial assets, with more than $22.5 trillion in investable assets across approximately 442,000 households. Wealth managers are seeking innovative ways to broaden and deepen their service menus to cater to the unique needs of the demographic, according to The Cerulli Report—U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2025.

As firms shift further upmarket to target the fastest-growing wealth demographics in the U.S., client service expectations are accelerating similarly as more practices strive to meet increased demand. Cerulli finds that practices more focused on the UHNW space tend to offer multiple additional services, on average. Services such as business planning (75%), foundation management (74%), and private banking (61%) are notably more prevalent upmarket.

However, the most striking difference when comparing UHNW-focused practices with more mainstream HNW firms is the addition of concierge and lifestyle services, which can best be defined as a catch-all category for the vast variety of nontraditional services that an advisory firm may deliver or coordinate on behalf of their clients. UHNW-focused intermediaries are nearly twice as likely to offer concierge/lifestyle services (58%) to their clients than the broader HNW market (31%).

“Advising across the entire balance sheet for families while providing access to specialist financial and nonfinancial services that client families may need allows advisory firms to unlock the most value for their wealthiest clients,” says Chayce Horton, associate director. “For firms looking to serve as the core advisory provider to ultra-wealthy families, it is critical to deliver solutions that serve the client in every facet of their lives from wealth management to concierge services.”

As firms expand both the number of core services they provide as well as the overall breadth of solutions they’re willing to coordinate on behalf of their wealthiest clients, the increasing amount of time and cost allocated to these tasks requires firms and advisors to think critically about how they’re compensated for their time and expertise.

Though firms are expected to do more for clients, basis-point fees have remained somewhat anchored for the last five years. However, Cerulli’s most recent data shows that those standard AUM-based fees are beginning to tick up slightly, especially for wealthier investors. In 2025, HNW practices report that between four and five services offered to clients are subject to extra fees, with the most common including trust administration and trustee services (54%), tax planning, preparation, and compliance (44%), and concierge/lifestyle services (36%).

“As intermediaries seek to serve a greater share of the ultra-wealthy households in the U.S., any rationalization or growth in services must be augmented with a parallel rationalization in revenue for the firm,” says Horton. “Not only is this practice important from a business profitability sense, but there is also a degree of importance in maintaining flexibility to meet the unique needs of ultra-wealthy investors who expect everything to be highly customized,” he concludes.