Across the wealth management industry, firms are realizing that one of the biggest opportunities for organic growth isn’t about acquiring brand-new clients, it’s about deepening relationships with the ones who already trust you. Hidden within existing books of business are untapped assets waiting to be uncovered.
Recent research from Capitalize and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College highlights just how significant that opportunity is. Their 2025 analysis estimates that Americans have left more than $2 trillion in retirement assets sitting in inactive or “forgotten” 401(k) accounts with former employers. That’s not only a challenge for investors, it’s a call to action for advisors and wealth firms to help bring those held away assets back into view and back to work.
A New Lens on an Old Challenge
Advisors have long known that clients often hold accounts elsewhere. The challenge isn’t awareness, it’s visibility. Firms typically have the right intent but lack the tools to pinpoint where those assets reside, when they’re likely to move, and which clients are most open to consolidation. This means, they don’t act and opportunities are forgotten.
For many clients, those forgotten 401(k)s are just one example of assets that slip out of view — not lost, just unseen. That’s where data, and more importantly, intelligence, comes in.
At TIFIN AG, we developed the Asset Consolidator model to solve exactly that. Using AI and machine learning, the model identifies which clients are likely to consolidate assets within the next quarter. It analyzes patterns of inflows, outflows, transactions, life events, and other behavioral signals to surface a ranked list of opportunities, transforming data into action.
The result? Advisors focus their energy where it matters most.
From Noise to Clarity
When data is unified and enriched with third-party intelligence, it tells a much deeper story. Job transitions, business sales, or liquidity events often indicate that a client’s financial situation is shifting and those are the moments when proactive engagement creates trust and growth.
A job transition, for instance, often comes with a new retirement plan and a left-behind 401(k). Identifying those inflection points can help advisors capture assets before they drift further away.
Our work across wealth enterprises has shown that advisors who act on these insights see measurable impact. In one partnership, advisors who consistently acted on TIFIN AG’s AI-driven recommendations achieved over 5% net new asset growth, outperforming peers who did not a
Even more compelling, roughly one in four outreach calls made based on AI-identified opportunities resulted in a new asset commitment, a powerful reminder that timing and context are everything. These results demonstrate the power of aligning advisor growth strategies with the right data, enabling advisors to turn insight into meaningful client engagement.
Advisors as Growth Multipliers
AI doesn’t replace the human relationship at the heart of advice, it amplifies it. When advisors have visibility into where to focus and when to engage, their conversations become more relevant and productive.
Instead of asking clients broad questions about other accounts, advisors can initiate retirement-focused conversations with purpose:
- “I noticed your recent job change, have you reviewed how your retirement assets are positioned?”
- “Let’s make sure those assets you’ve built over time are working as hard as the rest of your portfolio as you prepare for this next chapter.”
This is where technology becomes a growth multiplier, empowering advisors to move from reactive to proactive engagement, deepening client trust through conversations about overlooked assets and held away assets.
Turning Insight into Action
Organic growth remains one of the hardest challenges in wealth management. With average growth rates hovering around 4%, firms that want to stay competitive need to unlock new levers, starting with better data and smarter prioritization.
The opportunity isn’t in the assets advisors don’t have yet, it’s in the ones they can reclaim. By applying intelligence to existing relationships, firms can uncover significant untapped potential, boost retention, and empower advisors to grow with confidence.
As the trillions sitting in dormant retirement accounts show, investors often need a nudge. Firms that equip advisors with the intelligence to spot these opportunities early can turn forgotten assets into long-term relationships. At TIFIN AG, we call that the power of AI-driven visibility, helping advisors see what’s already theirs, applying machine learning, and giving firms the clarity to turn information into growth.
By pairing data science with proven advisor growth strategies, firms can transform unseen potential into measurable results — one held away asset at a time.