An extract from The Wealth Mosaic’s recently published white paper, From survival to reinvention: the new playbook for technology spend in wealth management, published in partnership with FA Solutions and IAWMC.
Why this research, and why now?
Technology in wealth management is evolving faster than ever before. The industry must honour its traditions of trust, personal service, and fiduciary responsibility while adapting to an era defined by digital convenience, hyper-personalisation, and data-driven insight.
The pandemic forced wealth managers to embrace digital channels almost overnight. Five years on, it is timely to ask: what has changed, what has endured, and where is technology spend heading next?
Three major forces underpin this discussion:
- Covid-19 as a catalyst for change
During the pandemic, firms had no choice but to digitise — often at speed and with significant spend. Processes that had previously been seen as too complex to digitise, such as client onboarding or adviser-client meetings, rapidly moved online.
- AI and real-time data as a ‘new frontier’
The rise of generative AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics has redefined the art of the possible. From real-time scenario modelling to automated compliance reporting, firms now face the challenge of deciding not if, but how, to use these capabilities.
- Client expectations driven by digital natives
Millennials and Gen Z investors, who are set to inherit trillions in wealth over the next decade, demand digital experiences that rival those offered by Apple, Google, and Amazon. For them, seamless integration of digital and human advice is the baseline expectation.
On behalf of FA Solutions, The Wealth Mosaic conducted interviews with senior executives from a diverse set of UK wealth management firms in summer 2025. These included large established players, boutique firms, UK institutions with access to group-wide infrastructure provided by foreign parents, and smaller, technology-driven challengers.
Despite differences in size and ownership structure, common themes emerged in how firms are thinking about their past, current, and future spend on technology infrastructure.
This paper captures those themes, setting them in the context of broader industry research, and aims to provide wealth management leaders with a clear framework for evaluating technology spend today and tomorrow.
Key findings
Wealth management is at a defining moment in its relationship with technology. Once centred on legacy platforms, cautious investment, and human-first client service, the sector has in recent years been reshaped by various converging forces: the demand for remote and digital engagement of the Covid-19 era, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based scalability, and a new generation of clients with radically different and ever-demanding expectations.
The Covid-19 crisis was the catalyst that accelerated digital adoption across the industry. Firms that had relied on paper-based processes, in-person meetings, and legacy infrastructure suddenly needed to reconfigure their operating models. Significant capital was directed toward enabling remote work, digitising client onboarding, and enhancing compliance and reporting. These investments were largely reactive, designed to maintain business continuity and ‘keep the lights on’.
Five years on, the conversation has shifted. Technology spend is now tightly aligned with growth strategies, adviser enablement, and client experience. Wealth managers are seeking to extract maximum value from transformation programmes launched in the pandemic era, while selectively investing in digital platforms, data integration, and adviser support tools that deliver tangible return on investment (ROI). The priority is no longer simply survival, but differentiation.
Looking ahead, the next phase of technology investment will be defined by precision, modularity, and reinvention. Firms are moving away from large-scale re-platforming projects toward more flexible, best-of-breed architectures.
The integration of AI and machine learning presents both opportunities and risks: while some firms are experimenting boldly, others remain cautious, concerned about compliance, talent shortages, and ROI. Meanwhile, cyber resilience, seamless onboarding, and client relationship management are emerging as areas of investment that are simply non-negotiable.
The implications are clear. Wealth managers must:
- Define the ‘why’ of spend before allocating capital, ensuring each investment solves a business problem or creates measurable value.
- Balance vendor partnerships with internal differentiation, using external providers for scale while retaining ownership of what sets the firm apart.
- Invest in people as much as platforms, ensuring advisers and staff have the skills to maximise the value of new technologies.
- Recognise that client expectations are set not by peers alone, but by non-traditional players (Big Tech) — and adapt accordingly.
The evolution of spend tells a clear story: yesterday was about survival, today is about alignment, and tomorrow is about reinvention.
The question is no longer whether to invest in technology, but how to ensure every penny spent builds the firm of the future.
"AI is firmly on our roadmap. The real question is one of timing, scale, and partnership — how much do we invest, when do we invest, and do we build in-house or turn to best-of-breed vendors to support what will be constantly evolving needs?"
Interested in reading ‘From survival to reinvention: the new playbook for technology spend in wealth management’? We’ll be publishing further extracts over the next few weeks, but you can read the white paper in full online here.
About the WealthTech Insight Series (WTIS)
This research is part of The Wealth Mosaic’s WealthTech Insight Series (WTIS), an ongoing and
developing research process, mixing online surveys and interviews, and focused exclusively on technology in the wealth management sector across the world.
Rather than a one-off research process, the WTIS will seek to build an ongoing program of research among wealth managers of different types across the world on a broad range of technology and related topics, building up an aggregated knowledge base of both qualitative views and perspectives as well as quantitative data points.
Discover our white paper collection!
- Managing model portfolios on multiple platforms – read here
- Productivity and growth in wealth management – read here
- The quest to become the best – becoming the trusted wealth coach and adviser – read here
- The role of technology for recruitment and retention within wealth management – read here
- The European wealth playbook for growth – read here
About The Wealth Mosaic
The Wealth Mosaic is a UK-headquartered online solution provider directory and knowledge resource, focused specifically on the wealth management industry.
For wealth managers, the buy side of our marketplace, The Wealth Mosaic is designed to enable discovery of key solutions, solution providers and knowledge resources by specific business needs.
For solution providers and vendors, the sell side of our marketplace, The Wealth Mosaic exists to support the positioning, exposure and business development needs of these firms in a more complex and demanding market.
Interested in discovering more – read our reports!
