Aug 5, 2025 - Last Updated: Aug 5, 2025
The next generation of investors is here — and they expect digital-first experiences, total transparency, and investment options that reflect their values and goals. For CEOs looking to future-proof their wealth management business, the challenge is clear: deliver on those expectations without breaking the bank on custom development.
Here’s the good news. Thanks to Apex AscendOS™, you don’t have to build it yourself. This real-time, cloud-native platform can help you attract, engage, and retain younger investors — and, for that matter, any investors who weren’t previously in your Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) due to their lower levels of investible assets.
Why next-gen investors are different
Millennials and Gen Z are projected to inherit trillions in the coming decades in the Great Wealth Transfer. They’re already earning, saving, and investing — but not the way previous generations did. Next-gen clients demand:
- Real-time access to information and transactions
- Digital onboarding and management, on any device
- Personalization, from portfolio strategies to app interfaces
- Access to different investment strategies that have historically been reserved for wealthier investors, such as alternatives or direct indexing
- Flexible investor experiences including advisor-led, robo-advising, and hybrid robo-advising
- ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) choices baked in, not bolted on
Meeting these demands is tough no matter how you try to work around legacy systems. That’s why Apex, a provider of one of these legacy platforms, decided to build it ourselves. The result is AscendOS, designed to be the technological cornerstone of wealth management for years to come.
Apex AscendOS: cloud-native and real-time
AscendOS isn’t just another fintech tool. It’s comprehensive infrastructure that powers everything modern investors expect — right out of the box, and with plenty of room for customization. Here are the most important pieces you need to know:
Real-time, all the time
Immediate gratification — it’s the hallmark of the smartphone and app era, and AscendOS is built to help meet this need with:
- New account opening and funding in seconds1
- Up-to-the-moment portfolio data across asset classes (including alternatives)
- Mirrored advisor and client portal views to keep both parties on the same page
- Self-service client solutions that empower investors to make routine updates on their own
- Pre-built end-investor mobile and web apps, if you need them
White label to keep your brand front and center
If you’re looking for shortcuts to reduce your technical lift, narrow your search to white-label solutions such as AscendOS. From your company logo and colors to fonts and button styles, it’s designed to be configured to match your brand and address your specific offerings.
Personalization at scale helps make every investor feel valued
It is notoriously hard for younger investors to tap into investing opportunities that have been the exclusive domain of ultra-high-net-worth clients. With AscendOS, we’re changing that.
Leverage access to fractional shares
Attract the next generation of investors by removing high price barriers, enabling precise portfolio diversification, and letting clients align investments with their personal values.
Offer direct indexing with allocations as low as $10,000
Clients can screen for Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) or Strategic Sustainable Investing (SSI) themes, excluding categories that don’t align with their values, and optimizing for tax efficiency.
Access model portfolios from top asset managers
Give financial advisors more time for client-facing activities when they don’t have to research and construct portfolios. Instead, just use our integrated Model Marketplace. Of course, advisors can always create their own models, too.
Unlock access to alternative investments
For interested and eligible next-gen investors,* Apex Alts provides access to a wide range of alternatives through the same platform and brokerage accounts, without the need for separate systems or manual processes.
What’s in it for you and your business?
As an executive, you need to keep one eye on the future as you shape your business today. And what we’re talking about here — replacing your core tech stack or, at the very least, adding new modules — tends to sound more disruptive than visionary.
But the reality is that your company is probably already facing disruption from the Great Wealth Transfer, slowing organic growth, and Baby Boomer decumulation. Instead of rolling over and accepting these circumstances, imagine if you could:
- Rapidly launch new digital-first wealth offerings without starting from scratch
- Customize the investor experience to your exact brand and client preferences
- Position your firm as a leader in innovation and transparency
- Empower your advisors with modern tools to reduce tedious administrative tasks
- Lower the barrier to entry for next-gen clients, unlocking new sources of fee-based revenue
- Use a platform capable of integrating whatever comes next in wealth tech
With Apex AscendOS, you can ride the wave of generational wealth transfer, not get swept aside by it.
Ready to learn more details about Augmented Advice? Download the fact sheet.