Banks called to reskill relationship managers for client acquisition

Advisors must transition from just being a source of advice to being orchestrators working with other specialists.

Relationship managers (RMs) must shift from client service to client acquisition, and banks are required to rebuild and reskill their advisers, says McKinsey & Company.

For existing clients, RMs must transition from being a single source of information and advice to serving as client relationship orchestrators who interact with investment advisors and specialists, the management consulting firm said in July 2026.

“Future RMs will require less breadth in product expertise but will need to manage client relationships beyond the beneficiary owner and engage the next generation, transitioning into “life coaches” or “family coaches,” McKinsey wrote in the report, “Building profit resilience in European private banking.”

The RMs must also master AI-enabled tools to monitor and manage their clients, it said.

“They will invest more time on high-value deals, serve more individual clients—for example, due to book consolidation from retiring RMs and higher organic growth rates—and spend less time on administration and servicing,” the report said.

To support the development of the future RM model, banks must rebuild and reinforce the talent pipeline with in-house academies and structured programs, McKinsey said.

Banks should also reskill RMs for higher commercial effectiveness and the use of AI, with McKinsey suggesting a “learn, grow, and apply” framework.

RMs can no longer be lone islands, and banks must pair them with advisors, specialists, and planners.

McKinsey also said that banks should train RMs to manage client potential using data- and trigger-based approaches.