Wall Street targets trillions in held-away client assets

Major bank wealth units are focusing on client assets held at other firms as a source of growth. Citi and Morgan Stanley each estimate at least $5 trillion in assets are managed outside their platforms, while Bank of America’s Merrill estimates the opportunity could be as large as $10 trillion.

At a recent investor day, Citi Wealth head Andy Sieg presented a global estimate that Citi clients hold about $5 trillion at other institutions and identified roughly $3 trillion in U.S. “off‑us” assets among retail and Citigold customers with at least $200,000 in investable assets. Sieg said the bank plans to expand relationships with existing clients rather than prioritize costly new-client acquisition. “We have the clients,” he stated.

Morgan Stanley’s chief executive Ted Pick estimated that employees whose pay is administered through Morgan Stanley at Work have roughly $5 trillion kept elsewhere. Pick noted that about $400 billion has moved to the firm’s financial advisors from Morgan Stanley at Work and E-Trade since 2020.

Merrill Wealth Management president Eric Schimpf estimated there are about 9.5 million Bank of America customers without wealth-unit ties who could represent up to $10 trillion in assets. He pointed out that capturing just 1 percent of that pool would equal roughly $100 billion in client flows.

Firms describe held-away assets as lower-friction growth because the client relationships already exist. A survey of nearly 150 advisors found 56 percent viewed increasing wallet share with current clients as their primary opportunity, while 69 percent planned to grow by adding households. Wealth units are offering broader products and services-private credit, alternative investments, tax planning and lending-to persuade clients to consolidate accounts.

Advisors warn that multiple managers working independently can create overlap and missed opportunities. Scott Bishop, a partner at Presidio Wealth Partners, highlighted tax-loss harvesting as an area where coordination matters because the IRS wash-sale rule prevents claiming a loss if a substantially identical security is purchased within a 61-day window, potentially negating intended tax benefits.

Some advisers accept shared custody when they have full visibility. Mitch Hamer of Intersecting Wealth said he will co-manage assets if he can act as the “keeper of the balance sheet,” with access to transaction records, quarterly statements and capital gains plans. If outside managers are inactive or their strategies conflict with a client’s goals, Hamer will seek greater control.

Structural limits constrain how much can be moved. Many held-away balances are retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, which the Investment Company Institute estimates at about $10.1 trillion, plus $4.1 trillion in other defined-contribution plans; these accounts are typically linked to employers and are not easily transferred. Client preferences also vary: survey results show rising interest in holistic advice but other reports find a small share of high-net-worth investors use a single firm and a growing share work with four to six managers.

Banks and wealth managers are expanding product shelves and adding tax, legal and lending services to reduce reasons for clients to spread assets. Firms state that better integration of accounts can improve coordination of finances, while operational and regulatory hurdles remain when consolidating diverse account types.