Implications for wealth managers
Several common threads emerged from the discussions with wealth management executives who contributed to this paper — all with clear implications for industry leaders, namely:
- Strategic planning is critical
Firms must articulate the business problem each technology investment seeks to address, particularly in the case of planned AI spend. Spending without a clear objective runs the risk of wasted capital and adviser frustration.
- There is a need to balance external partnerships with internal differentiation
Best-of-breed vendors can deliver scale, compliance, and cybersecurity, but firms must own the elements that define their value proposition: adviser expertise, client relationships, and bespoke portfolio design.
- Firms should invest in people as much as platforms
Training, cultural adaptation, and adviser enablement are as important as the technologies themselves. Technology without adoption delivers no ROI.
- Leading firms recognise that, today more than ever, clients set the bar
Digital expectations are defined not by financial peers but by Big Tech. Firms must continually measure themselves against standards set by non-traditional firms such as Apple, Google, and Amazon — not just traditional financial institutions or long-established banking brands.
"We’re being deliberately selective about where we deploy AI. The first question is always: what problem are we solving? Only then do we decide if AI is the right tool to deliver meaningful impact."
Conclusion: the path ahead
Wealth management firms are entering a new era of technology spend. The Covid-19 era forced firms to digitise to survive. The current moment is about aligning spend to strategy, ROI, and client experience. The next chapter will be about reinvention — modular architectures, AI adoption, and data-driven personalisation.
Winners will be those which:
- treat technology not as overhead but as a growth engine;
- build flexible, data-rich systems that can adapt to rapid innovation; and
- invest in people as much as platforms, embedding cultural change alongside technical adoption.
The evolution of spend tells a clear story: yesterday was about survival, today is about alignment, and tomorrow is about reinvention.
The question for leaders is no longer whether to spend — but how to ensure every investment builds the firm of the future.
"AI will undoubtedly reshape the workplace, but I’m confident the change will be positive. Once people see the tangible benefits, the fear will give way to enthusiasm.”
Interested in reading From survival to reinvention: The new playbook for technology spend in wealth management? You can read the white paper in full online here.
About the WealthTech Insight Series (WTIS)
This research-led white paper is part of The Wealth Mosaic’s WealthTech Insight Series (WTIS), an ongoing research series 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.
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About The Wealth Mosaic
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