The shifting signals
of wealth

From possessions to brands

Status signalling is deeply rooted in human behaviour. Historically, it helped individuals establish their position within a group, secure resources and gain social acceptance. While the world has evolved over the centuries, humans’ desire for recognition and status has not. What has changed is how we express it.

Today, this innate need manifests itself in various ways, from conspicuous consumption and virtue signalling to digital status. From an investment perspective, it is the consumption angle that interests us most.

In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, status was largely about material success. A large house, expensive car, luxury watch, fur coat or country club membership sent a straightforward message: I can afford things that most people can’t. As prosperity increased, however, more middle-class consumers could afford many of these trappings of wealth and the signal began to lose some of its power.

From the 1980s, luxury brands increasingly filled the gap. A Rolex watch, Mercedes S-Class, Armani suit or Louis Vuitton luggage did more than cost a lot of money. The brand itself communicated status. This was the era of conspicuous consumption, when visibility was part of the appeal: you knew someone was wealthy because you could see what they were wearing or driving.

For luxury companies, this created powerful economics. Strong brands could command premium prices, build aspiration across generations and turn relatively functional products into objects of desire.

Experiences take over

By the late 2000s, luxury goods themselves had become more accessible and the signal began to change again. Experiences increasingly became a form of status, a trend dramatically amplified by the rise of social media. A safari in Kenya, dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or an unusual adventure holiday could now be shared instantly with your entire network. The message shifted from ‘look what I own’ to ‘look where I’ve been’.

There is evidence that this shift is continuing. According to McKinsey’s 2026 State of Luxury report, travel now ranks ahead of every luxury product category when consumers in the US and China are asked where they would spend additional discretionary income. Increasingly, luxury is being associated with experiences that are personal, memorable and difficult to replicate.

For investors, this broadens the luxury opportunity beyond traditional goods to businesses exposed to premium travel, hospitality and other high-end experiences.

The rise of quiet luxury

More recently, obvious displays of wealth have become less fashionable in some circles and subtler signals have gained ground. The principle of ‘if you know, you know’ has helped drive the rise of so-called quiet luxury, where craftsmanship, scarcity and recognisable design matter more than a prominent logo.

Brunello Cucinelli is one example. Luxury jewellery provides another. A Cartier Love bracelet or Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra piece needs no conspicuous branding. Its value as a status signal lies partly in the fact that those familiar with the design know exactly what it is.

This shift is particularly interesting from an investment perspective. It suggests that some of the strongest luxury businesses may be those whose appeal rests not simply on a visible logo, but on heritage, craftsmanship, scarcity and distinctive designs that are difficult to replicate.

The performance of Richemont provides a good example. Its jewellery maisons – which include Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels – grew sales by 14% at constant exchange rates in the year to March 2026. That momentum has since accelerated, with jewellery sales rising 24% in the three months to June 2026, marking a seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

What comes next?

If status has continually evolved as yesterday’s luxuries have become more attainable, what might distinguish wealth in future? We see several possibilities.

Time freedom has become increasingly valuable. The ability to work selectively, reject unnecessary meetings, travel when you choose and generally control your own time is perhaps one of the clearest luxuries of all.

Health and longevity is another. Health is already increasingly something on which affluent consumers are willing to spend significant amounts, and advances in medical science could make the ability to extend not only lifespan but healthy lifespan an even more valuable commodity.

Privacy itself has become a luxury in an increasingly connected world, while experiences will likely become more unusual, personalised and difficult to replicate.

And then there is scarcity. This may prove the most enduring status signal of all because, by definition, genuine scarcity cannot easily be democratised. Historically, this has meant assets such as fine art and land. In future, it could increasingly encompass alternative assets, private companies and unique collections.

The common thread is exclusivity. As wealth increases, the bar for what constitutes something genuinely unusual tends to rise with it.

Turning the idea into investments

These are not simply interesting observations about consumer behaviour. They can also influence the way we think about investment opportunities.

Richemont, for example, gives our clients exposure to some of the world’s most desirable luxury jewellery maisons. Their appeal is increasingly aligned with the move towards understated, recognisable luxury based on heritage and design rather than conspicuous branding.

We also see a parallel in private assets. Through Sanlam Private Wealth’s Global Alternative Assets Fund, our clients can gain exposure to investment opportunities unavailable through public markets. Our holding in Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust similarly provides exposure to some of the world’s most valuable private companies, including Anthropic, ByteDance, Stripe and Databricks.

Health and longevity provide another investment theme. Thermo Fisher Scientific, for example, is well placed to benefit from advances in areas such as precision medicine and diagnostics.

Experiential luxury is also an area we watch closely. Marriott has considerable exposure to the premium and luxury end of the travel market and would fit well with our view of rising spending on high-end experiences. It is a company we would like to own, but not at any price. Our valuation discipline prevents us from doing so at present.

This distinction is important. Identifying an attractive structural trend doesn’t automatically make every company exposed to it a good investment. We still look for quality, growing businesses at attractive valuations.

New opportunities for businesses

The evolution of status is unlikely to stop here. Rising global wealth, potentially accelerated by artificial intelligence and other technological advances, means that more people will be able to afford goods and experiences that were once highly exclusive. As this happens, the markers of status will continue to evolve, creating new opportunities for businesses able to offer something genuinely distinctive or difficult to replicate.

For investors, however, spotting these shifts is only part of the equation. The challenge is to identify the quality businesses with the brand strength, scarcity or competitive advantages to benefit from them over time – and, importantly, to invest only when the valuation makes sense.