When Tucker York first started as a private wealth advisor four decades ago, the firm’s average account size was nearly US$5 million. Today at Goldman Sachs, that figure wouldn’t even get you through the front door.

Driven by global wealth creation, the veteran has seen average account sizes rise to about US$90 million. But he says the bigger change is how wealth management itself has evolved over 40 years.

What was once a uniform global playbook has fractured into regional client preferences. While the core focus remains ultra high net worth (UHNW) clients, the model has split into a fee-based approach in the US, a transaction-driven business in Asia, and a hybrid in EMEA, York, chair of global wealth management at Goldman Sachs, told Asian Private Banker.

Even as the landscape fragments, York sees significant runway ahead. “Our overall market share remains relatively low, which means the market doesn’t even have to grow for us to have massive opportunities to expand — although, in reality, the market is growing,” he said. 

York said Goldman’s wealth business has grown strongly, with “growth rate over the last five years has been in the double digits,” adding that it has “more or less doubled over that period.”

“While Asia and EMEA are smaller businesses, their growth rates are higher, and they continue to contribute meaningfully to our overall growth rate. Asia, in particular, has delivered the strongest international growth rate over the last four years,” said York. 

“Across Hong Kong and Singapore, our main challenge right now is that we simply don’t have enough advisors relative to the scale of the opportunity,” he added. 

No sign-on bonuses, temp revenue hit for RMs

Paradoxically, while a shortage of advisors stands between Goldman and the full scale of the Asian market opportunity, the firm refuses to compromise its strict hiring philosophy by offering the massive upfront sign-on packages typical of its rivals.

“We don’t subscribe to the model of paying significant upfront bonuses just to bring someone onto the platform. I don’t see how the economics or the culture of this model can work long-term,” said York. 

York noted that while Goldman rarely recruited from rivals two decades ago, it has pivoted over the last five to six years to increasingly focus on attracting outside talent.

“The model works best when we bring in individuals who have established a strong track record of success and are willing to accept a brief pause in their immediate career trajectory to join us. During the transition, they may lose a portion of their existing revenue, as some of the clients may not fit our strict ultra high net worth profile,” he added. 

While asking new hires to take a temporary revenue hit could be a tough sell, York argues the long-term payoff is proven by the firm’s retention metrics. 

“If you look at the top 10% of colleagues in our US business by productivity, their average tenure at Goldman Sachs is 26 years,” said York, adding that although the Asia business is newer, many of the colleagues have been with the bank for over 20 years, and the longest-serving advisor has been with the bank for nearly 30 years. 

On automation 

This deep commitment to long-term human talent raises an obvious question about the industry’s next major shift: what happens when artificial intelligence enters the mix? When asked which parts of wealth management are most vulnerable to automation and AI, York noted:

“Anything that gives an advisor leverage to deepen their relationship with a client is something we should explore,” said York. 

“Both our headcount and our investment in AI will continue to rise because we see a significant opportunity for revenue growth,” he said, adding that he is advising young professionals to master AI because it would allow them to better support client-facing senior advisors while accelerating their own career progression.

Funding these priorities follows a strict two-to-one investment split: two-thirds goes to technology, operations, and over 400 global subject matter experts, while one-third is directed to hiring and developing new talent, York said.

A reality check for next-gen bankers

York, who previously served as global head of wealth management and has held senior leadership roles across Goldman’s US and EMEA businesses, admitted that while he was initially drawn to the industry for its financial rewards, what has kept him in the business is the people he works with.

While Goldman continues to fund new talent acquisition, York offers a stark reminder that the role requires grit. 

“This is not an easy job. I’ve worked with clients for 40 years now and have developed deep, multi-generational relationships — meeting people before they were married, then working with their children, and now advising their grandchildren,” he said

“It is a wonderful journey, but it doesn’t start out that way. Anyone entering the industry needs to think long and hard about where they fit and understand the sheer difficulty of building a business from the ground up,” he added.