A new Investor Brand Builder report from data analytics and advisory firm Escalent found that trust in and engagement with financial advisors has reached a new high among affluent investors—those with at least $100,000 in investable assets. However, advisors still need to do some catch-up work with investors’ increasing reliance on digital tools and robo advisors.

“The current affluent investor landscape presents a critical opportunity for wealth management firms to differentiate and drive significant growth with these rapidly evolving segments,” said Steve Ethridge, senior director of Cogent Syndicated by Escalent, in a statement. “They must foster trust through consistent performance, but also leverage digital tools to complement, not replace, the value of their human-centric advice.”

In Escalent’s survey sample, 42% of affluent investors reported having a traditional financial advisor, a 300-basis-point increase from the 2023 edition of the survey. Reliance on financial advisors was the highest among first-wave baby boomers (69- to 78-year-olds), at 48%. It was almost as high among members of Gen Z, at 46%. Gen X investors reported the lowest rate of working with a traditional advisor, at 38%. 

At the same time, 20% of all investors reported using robo advisors, an increase of 500 basis points compared to 2023. Today, over half of Gen Z affluent investors (55%) are being “robo advised,” a significant increase from just a year ago, when that figure stood at 33%. Additionally, 42% of millennials and 24% of Gen X investors use robo advisors. Their use was in the low single digits among baby boomers and the silent generation.

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The reliance on robo advisors was also highest among investors with between $100,000 and $500,000 in assets, at 22%, compared to those with over $500,000 in assets, where it was 18%.

Earlier this year, Robinhood launched a new robo advisor platform for investors with over $100,000 in assets. Meanwhile, Canadian-based robo advisor Wealthsimple, which caters to young and first-time investors, entered the U.S. market for the first time. 

Another 34% of affluent investors reported being “self-directed.” The share of investors in that category was relatively stable across all age cohorts, with the highest among Gen Z and the silent generation (36%) and the lowest among first-wave baby boomers (30%).

Yet trust in the financial investment community was highest among those who work with a traditional financial advisor, at 73%, Escalent found. The figure represents an increase from 64% in 2023 and 70% in 2024. Among self-directed investors, exactly half reported having trust in the financial investment community.

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What’s more, 65% of investors who use robo advisors ranked access to a human financial advisor as “very important.” Overall, 57% of surveyed investors placed a high value on having access to a traditional financial advisor, a 400-basis-point increase from the 2023 survey. 

Escalent conducted the survey online between July and August of 2025. The survey included responses from 5,038 affluent investors.