CBA's Private Banking Push Targets Gen Z Australians Who Want to Invest but Don't

Why CBA's Susie Grehl Is Chasing Young Investors

Commonwealth Bank's wealth and private banking arm is targeting a group the industry usually ignores: young Australians with little savings and no family financial safety net. Susie Grehl, CBA's executive general manager for Wealth & Private, has repositioned Commonwealth Private away from a service aimed strictly at high-net-worth clients and toward a broader client base that includes first-time and entry-level investors.

Grehl points to CBA-commissioned research showing 70% of Australians aged 18-24 say they want to start investing, but fewer than half actually do. When the bank surveyed customers, cost-of-living pressure was one explanation, but the more common barriers were psychological: people felt they needed a large sum to begin, were overwhelmed by jargon and the number of options, and lacked confidence to choose.

In response, CBA has launched short-form education videos, partnered with Friends That Invest so younger people can hear from peers, and built low-cost diversified managed portfolios linked to everyday transaction accounts. The idea, Grehl says, is to get young Australians investing early, even in small amounts, rather than repeating her own mistake of starting late and picking single stocks she did not understand.

The shift is part of a wider reset of CBA's wealth business. Under Grehl's watch, CBA sold its personal advice business to LGT Crestone and launched a Private Wealth Advantage partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management in July 2025. Grehl also brought in former NAB colleague Sarah Chadzynski as general manager of Commonwealth Private, while adding a partnership with financial education firm Sophia to provide finance courses for women.

What CBA's Youth-Investing Push Means for Australian Wealth Management

Commonwealth Private historically operated as a discreet service for wealthy clients, but Grehl's strategy is to broaden the funnel. That involves both business logic and risk: capture clients before they inherit wealth or build businesses, rather than waiting until they already have large balances at another institution.

Why CBA Is Widening the Private Banking Funnel

The prize is sizable. The article cites an intergenerational wealth transfer of $3.5-$5.4 trillion, with around 60% expected to go to women. By adding lower-cost entry products and education for 18-24-year-olds, CBA is trying to build relationships years before those assets move. The move toward younger, more female and more digitally-savvy clients is therefore not only about inclusion; it is a client acquisition strategy for Australia's largest bank wealth franchise.

The 70% Gap CBA Is Trying to Close

The bank's research is significant because it separates affordability from confidence. If cost of living were the only obstacle, the solution would simply be lower minimum investments. Instead, CBA's response includes peer-led content and women-focused courses with Sophia. That suggests the bank believes education and simplified managed portfolios can convert intent into active investing where raw price cuts alone would not.

What the LGT Crestone and J.P. Morgan Moves Signal

CBA's decision to exit personal advice to LGT Crestone and partner with J.P. Morgan Asset Management shows a clearer division: the bank wants to own the client relationship and distribution, while outsourcing or co-developing investment capability. The Sophia partnership points in the same direction. Financial education rather than individualised advice keeps the service scalable and avoids the heavier regulatory burden of personal advice.

A Reality Check on the $100-a-Week Promise

Grehl's example of an 18-year-old investing $100 a week and becoming a millionaire at retirement is a long-run compounding illustration, not a forecast. The outcome depends on returns, fees, inflation and uninterrupted contributions over decades. The claim is effective for engagement, but it also creates expectations CBA will need to manage if market returns disappoint.

What Bankers and Young Investors Should Take From CBA's Move

For Australian wealth and banking leaders:

• Measure the entry-level investing gap in your own customer base, not just its stated desire. CBA's finding that 70% of 18-24-year-olds want to invest but fewer than half do is a verifiable market gap; if your onboarding data shows the same pattern, simplified products and peer-led education may matter more than lower fees alone.
• Prepare for the $3.5-$5.4 trillion transfer. With 60% expected to pass to women, banks that do not adapt their advice, education and relationship models to female and younger beneficiaries risk losing the next generation of wealthy clients.
• Watch the take-up of CBA's Private Wealth Advantage with J.P. Morgan Asset Management and the Sophia women's finance courses. If those partnerships convert entry-level customers into retained private-banking clients, CBA's integrated transaction-plus-wealth model will be harder for standalone platforms to match.

For young Australians deciding whether to act on the story:

• Treat the "invest $100 a week from 18 and retire a millionaire" line as a demonstration of compounding over a long time horizon. Ask what return, fees and inflation are assumed, and whether you can realistically keep contributing for decades.
• If jargon and choice overload are the real blockers, a diversified managed portfolio can solve the problem of picking single stocks, which Grehl describes as her own early mistake. But compare CBA's fees and underlying investments with other low-cost diversified options before opening the account; the most accessible product is not automatically the cheapest.