Recently, Fortune magazine held an in-depth dialogue with Zander Yin, CEO of Noah Holdings, exploring the long-term mission and evolving trends in the Chinese wealth management industry in the age of AI. The insights shared in this interview echo the core themes of the 2025 Noah Holdings Global Black Diamond Summit in Macau—specifically the integration of AI in wealth management, the nuances of intergenerational shifts in Chinese families, and the long-term perspective required for family legacy.

During the summit, the AI Relationship Manager "Noya," mentioned by Zander in the interview, was officially launched. Powered by the industry's latest technical architecture, Noya represents a profound shift in how wealth management services are delivered. Simultaneously, the NOAH's Next-Gen Black Diamond Club Annual Private Session focused on the growth of the new generation, combining leadership development, global perspectives, and Eastern aesthetics to help young Chinese families develop a sophisticated approach to wealth in the AI era.

This interview serves as a conceptual thread for the summit, helping us examine the future trajectory of global Chinese wealth management within a broader framework.

The following content was originally published in Fortune:

As the global wealth map is continuously redrawn, high-net-worth Chinese individuals find themselves at an unprecedented crossroads. Over the past twenty years, the deep integration of the Chinese economy with global markets has created a "Global Chinese Wealth Community"—a diverse collective spanning multiple regions, cultures, and generations. This community encompasses first-generation entrepreneurs, globally mobile new immigrants, and emerging second- and third-generation innovators. The expansion of wealth, the internationalization of asset allocation, the complexity of family succession, and the rapid breakthroughs in AI are all reshaping how this community understands and manages its legacy.

Noah Holdings (NYSE: NOAH, HKEX: 6686) was founded and grew within this very context. Since its inception in the early 2000s, this leading independent global Chinese wealth management institution has navigated the profound transformation of the financial market—from domestic supply scarcity to global diversification. It has witnessed the maturation of investment philosophies, risk awareness, and family governance among Chinese wealth owners. Noah's journey—from serving Chinese entrepreneurs to connecting global Chinese families, and from traditional product selection to building an AI-powered advisory system that combines "human expertise with algorithmic intelligence"—mirrors the entire industry's transformation.

Change and Continuity of Wealth Management in the AI Era

In late 2025, Fang Wang, Shanghai Executive Editor, Fortune China, visited Noah Holdings for an in-depth conversation with Zander. They explored critical topics including AI's transformation of every aspect of wealth management, the evolution of high-net-worth Chinese clients' needs over two decades, investment preferences across different global Chinese communities, and the shifting perspectives on legacy among three generations. Together, they mapped the industry's trajectory to uncover the "Constants and Variables" of wealth management in the AI era.

"AI is elevating wealth management service levels to a new height, allowing us to meet personalized client needs more efficiently," Zander noted regarding the upgraded AI RM system, which was officially launched at the Macau summit. Regarding the collaboration between human advisors and AI, his judgment is clear and measured: "Humans are the primary source of judgment and creative thinking." While AI excels at aggregating broad intelligence to complete tasks rapidly, human expertise remains irreplaceable for compliance and value-based judgment in complex scenarios.

Cognition Determines Allocation: Judgment as Wealth Protection

Against a backdrop of uneven global growth and increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics, Zander shared forward-looking perspectives on "deflation-hedged assets" and "bridge assets," highlighting the long-term value of AI infrastructure and digital assets.

These insights are backed by systematic research. Over the past four years, the Noah Holdings | ARK Wealth CIO Office has released ten research reports covering topics from risk defense to structural reconstruction, and from individual rationality to systemic anti-fragility. These reports have formed a long-term allocation framework for high-net-worth Chinese families, centered on one key realization: cognition determines allocation, and judgment is the ultimate power of wealth protection. This evolution of thought represents a "cognitive upgrade" journey for these families.

Spiritual Legacy: The Core of Family Succession

When discussing family succession, Zander admitted that "every family has its own difficult scripture to read." Through extensive first-hand experience, he observed that most second-generation members of Chinese families have received elite global educations, often in finance, management, or economics—reflecting the first generation's desire for their heirs to "master the art of wealth management."

By the third generation, interests and choices become significantly more diverse. Zander believes these intergenerational differences reflect a shift in mindset. The first generation focused on wealth creation through hard work and has a deep sense of the "weight" and security of wealth. The second generation, as heirs, focuses on stewardship and management. Then, the third generation pursues self-actualization. However, beneath these shifts lies a fundamental truth: the essence of family succession is its spiritual legacy. While the transfer of financial assets provides the structure, it is the transfer of spirit and values that determines a family's true longevity.

Between AI's analytical power and the essence of human nature, between computing power and judgment, and between global vision and local experience, Noah is integrating technology with professional insight. This approach supports clients in comprehensive wealth management and reflects the challenges and opportunities the industry will face in the future.

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