Six-figure earners are now Britain’s invisible middle class, but they’re an afterthought when it comes to banks, writes Ziad Mabsout

Six-figure earners are meant to be the financial success stories of modern Britain. They’re Britain’s invisible middle class: they work long-hours, pay heavy taxes and they’re told they’re doing well. But for the increasing number of professionals earning around £100,000 and above, the options for growing that wealth remain remarkably narrow. They are too affluent for retail investment apps, too “mass market” for private banks and often too busy to navigate opaque wealth products designed for the already rich.

This cohort, sometimes dubbed HENRYs (High Earners, not Rich Yet), will be the next major wealth holders, but they’re not being treated that way. The industry still operates as if wealth is defined by a seven-figure portfolio and a private banker’s card. But today’s high earners expect something different: digital access, transparency and a chance to invest in the kind of opportunities once reserved for institutions.

The new middle of wealth

In the UK, there are now more than 1.35m earning over £100,000. These are doctors, consultants, lawyers, tech professionals and entrepreneurs earning six-figures but locked out of the exclusive world of private markets. Despite healthy incomes, they find themselves boxed into retail funds, ISAs or buy-to-let properties, even as inflation erodes real returns and property markets........

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