Could it be that 2026 will be the most impactful and far-reaching year to date in terms of the role of technology in and around the global wealth management sector? Sure, we’ve been here before. We’ve heard the hype. Every year, analyst and consultant reports come with game-changing headlines, and the pressure has built up, with a reaction imminent. The tipping point is upon us. But wealth management and probably many other industries have a real habit of carrying on regardless, the same topics in play year-on-year, seemingly little changing as the years pass.
Perhaps we are wrong, but the arrival and development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its increasing encroachment into the mindset and operational activities of wealth managers feel more real now, more like the beginning of genuine change. Is 2026 the year that AI across wealth management really starts to deliver on its promises? The challenges, the pressures, the threats, the opportunities, the need for change – the stars might be aligning for real technological change to come into effect across the sector.
Many elements of the sector will undoubtedly stay the same or evolve at a similar pace to their historical norm, all of which is good thing (at least for everyone’s sanity). But there is much that now feels ripe for a faster pace of change, setting course into the wealth management industry of the future now that a critical mass of firms have done their learning, exploring, and testing.
2026 is the year of action.
Technology spend, as highlighted by Celent in its 2024 report, Wealth Management IT Spending Forecasts by Technology, 2023–2028, is on the rise every year at a 4.5 percent CAGR.
And there is much to spend that money on. For us, looking across all the noise, reading the research and hearing all the conversations in forums, on our website, and so on, there is a wide set of areas where the wealth management sector might spend its technology budgets.
All the usual drivers of the industry’s ongoing evolution are at play: enhanced client experience, together with expanded expectations and increasing wealth transfer; compliance with new and adapted regulations; changes and updates to the product and service mix; portfolio allocation shifts to meet not only short-term return and risk management but also long-term trends; ongoing M&A and industry consolidation; the shifting of the target operating model to delivery on firms’ individual strategies, and so on.
Our 10 areas of focus for 2026
For us at The Wealth Mosaic, the focus areas of technology spend in 2026 are less about individual functions and more about strategic focus areas. For this WealthTech 2026, we highlight areas where technology is a real enabler, differentiator, or a critical element to delivery. So, it’s less about individual functional needs like CRM or financial planning, and more about overall business needs. As highlighted in Table 1, we highlight 10 areas of focus.
Table 1: 10 core technology and technology-enabled trends running through wealth management in 2026
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Headline |
Detail |
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1. The data foundation |
The role of data across broad aspects of wealth management is becoming increasingly critical. Firms need to understand their data footprint, be able to understand, store, and categorise it, and access and use it where needed. For insight, decision-making, client engagement, personalisation, compliance, operational efficiency, portfolio optimisation, and enabling AI and other requirements, data is critical. |
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2. The increasing role of AI |
AI will drive further into the operational model of wealth management, across front, middle and back-office needs. A significant number of firms have moved beyond discovery and learning to testing and implementation. The AI train has left the station. Firms will now move more actively to embed AI across their technological infrastructure, engaging in an ongoing game of use case identification, testing, implementation, measurement, and scope refinement and/or expansion. |
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3. Cybersecurity and fraud prevention |
The cybersecurity risks facing wealth management are increasingly sophisticated, multi-vector, and influenced by factors including increased digital transformation, AI adoption, and regulatory expectations. In this environment, enhanced cybersecurity and fraud protection capabilities will be essential to protect the industry’s growing number of digital client interactions and long-held position of trust. |
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4. Integration, optimisation, and ROI |
As the criticality of the technology infrastructure grows, firms need to focus more on some core aspects of their technology infrastructure efforts, including:
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5. Buy, build, or rent evolves |
As the complexity of the needs and solutions in the technology sphere continues to develop, firms will update their view on the ‘buy-vs-build-vs-rent’ debate. While ‘build’ was the historical norm, ‘buy or rent’ has become more the norm as the third-party solution market has grown and developed. Today, with the power of AI supporting an updated view across this debate, firms can take a more nuanced, pragmatic, and personalised approach to whether they buy, build, or rent. |
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6. Ecosystem engagement |
Wealth managers will seek to broaden their engagement with the growing ecosystem of technology solution providers to the sector. WealthTech is increasingly sophisticated and capable, providing a diversity of offerings. Wealth managers, as the buyers or renters of these offerings, need to be not only aware in general of what is possible, but also positioned to engage where needed to deliver on their strategic objectives. |
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7. Personalisation |
With the increasing adoption of modern technologies, especially in the era of AI, the theme of personalisation is moving beyond theory to reality. Like others, this is a theme that is not standalone but sits alongside or on top of other topics included here – data, AI, client experience, etc. A unified data strategy with supporting analytics will allow firms to optimise allocations and advice; product opportunities like private markets can be aligned to personal preferences; firms can access SaaS platforms that offer product access, and so on. |
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8. Momentum in private markets and alternative investments |
Technology solutions will be fundamental in supporting the growth of private market and other alternative investment options through the wealth management marketplace. There are three core elements to the role of technology:
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9. Further enhancing client experience and digital engagement |
The increasing capabilities of technology, on top of data foundations and AI enhancements, will allow firms to deliver enhanced, real-time, and seamless digital experiences. Clients want immediate access to information, dashboards, data, reporting, investment opportunities, communication channels, and so on. The industry is also looking for more efficiency and reduced friction during the onboarding process. As highlighted in wealthmanagement.com’s 2025 Tech Investment Survey, CRM is the top priority for firms in the United States. AI will also have a role to play in supporting engagement, personalisation, and so on. |
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10. Enabling family office-style services through the market |
There is an almost daily flow of news about the growth in family office numbers and, alongside that growth, how technology and evolution in supporting models are allowing for some democratisation of access to family office-style services. This article from Reuters about the DBS multi-family office platform is a strong example of how access to supporting propositions is further enabling family office growth. This access also includes investment, tax, legal, lifestyle, and estate planning services. On the technology side, specifically, there are now multiple comprehensive technology offerings in the space available to family offices of smaller sizes. |
Source: The Wealth Mosaic, ChatGPT, InvestSuite, Wealth Management, Reuters
The above is not a ranking, although by putting data at the very top, we are highlighting a theme that arises in almost every industry conversation, particularly around AI. Meanwhile the momentum around AI now seems to be unstoppable.
Clearly, there is also far more that could be added to the list – for example, leadership, culture, training, adviser tooling, and so on. There is a lot in play. For any individual firm, large or small, what matters is tying everything back to strategy and following that with execution. Those are the foundations on which their technology development should be based.
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.
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Discover our latest reports!
- US RIA Toolkit 2026 – read here
- Future View Toolkit 2025 – read here
- UK Toolkit 2025 – read here
- European WealthTech Landscape Report 2025 – read here
- AI Toolkit 2025 – read here
- Client Experience Toolkit 2024 – read here
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