\n How advisors can close the experience gap as clients demand more from their firms.\n <\/p>\n
Wealth management is at an inflection point. Clients are demanding more, and the firms that cannot keep up are leaving growth on the table.<\/p>\n
According to Capgemini research, $1.5 trillion in new assets under advice accrued to wealthtech and new-age competitors<\/a>\u00a0between 2022 and 2025, opportunity that traditional wealth management<\/a> firms simply failed to capture.<\/p>\n PV Narayan, head of banking for the Americas at Capgemini, spoke with InvestmentNews to discuss what is driving that gap, where AI is creating the greatest value in client relationships, and why the most important technology decisions in wealth management need to start at the very top.<\/p>\n The client relationship has fundamentally changed<\/strong><\/p>\n Capgemini’s research finds that 88% of high-net-worth individuals now work with multiple firms specifically to access private equity<\/a>, hedge funds, and other alternative investments. Exclusive single-firm relationships, once the hallmark of the wealth management industry, have fallen from 39% to just 19% over the past six years.<\/p>\n “Right now, clients are chasing access to products that sit outside what many traditional firms currently provide,” Narayan said. “Traditional firms built their model around managing assets well, but today’s client expects a much broader set of capabilities, from diverse investment options to modern digital experiences.”<\/p>\n The consequence is that even as wealth creation accelerates and the advisory market expands, firms that fail to evolve their value proposition will continue to cede that growth to more agile competitors.<\/p>\n Closely tied to that is a personalization gap<\/a> that many firms have not yet confronted honestly. Capgemini’s data shows 42% of high-net-worth individuals say they had to restate their financial goals to the same firm more than once; a signal that the seamless, anticipatory experience clients expect is not yet being delivered.<\/p>\n “Advisors often equate personalization with more frequent check-ins or a strong personal relationship, but clients are looking for something more specific: an advisor who already understands their preferences and anticipates their needs,” Narayan said. “This is not about technology for technology’s sake. It is about execution.”<\/p>\n What AI can and cannot do for advisors<\/strong><\/p>\n The conversation around artificial intelligence in wealth management<\/a>\u00a0has matured quickly, but Narayan argues that most firms are still scratching the surface. Advisors experimenting with AI tend to use it for administrative tasks. The real value, he says, lies deeper.<\/p>\n “The foundational role of an advisor \u2014 understanding client goals, navigating family dynamics, guiding clients through uncertainty, and coordinating across complex needs \u2014 cannot be automated,” he said. “But real-time intelligence can significantly amplify their impact.”<\/p>\n Capgemini’s research<\/a> indicates AI can cut an advisor’s operational workload by roughly 50%, freeing time that can be redirected toward client outcomes.<\/p>\n Scaling true personalization, such as reaching out proactively during market volatility<\/a> or adjusting recommendations as a client’s life circumstances shift, requires embedding AI across the full technology stack<\/a> so that it becomes part of day-to-day workflows rather than a standalone tool.<\/p>\n “AI can surface data, flag new opportunities, and even model scenarios, but it can’t sit across from a client during a pivotal life moment and help them think through what matters and what the best course of action is,” Narayan said.<\/p>\n The research supports this: 53% of clients say they would recommend their firm when an advisor effectively coordinates the right specialists for their situation; a function Narayan describes as “distinctly human.”<\/p>\n The agility advantage and what larger firms can learn<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the more counterintuitive findings in Capgemini’s research is that smaller, more agile firms currently hold an advantage in AI adoption. Independent and robo-advisors<\/a> are growing faster in part because they carry less structural complexity and lighter regulatory burden, enabling quicker movement.<\/p>\n “Larger firms might have scale and specialist depth, but lack a single, unified view of the client, which makes real coordination and personalization hard to deliver,” Narayan said. “The lesson for both is that growth now comes from removing friction between what a firm already has \u2014 whether it’s topical expertise or technical prowess \u2014 and what the client actually experiences.”<\/p>\n That friction-removal, in practice, often comes down to data infrastructure; whether a firm’s systems can actually surface the right client insight at the right moment, regardless of which advisor or specialist is involved.<\/p>\n Leadership must own the technology agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked to name one strategic priority for wealth management firms over the next five years, Narayan did not lead with AI or client experience, but governance.<\/p>\n “Technology decisions must be owned by the highest levels of leadership and prioritized with the same rigor applied to revenue or client growth targets,” he said. “The firms making real progress have senior leadership driving technological innovation<\/a>\u00a0as core business strategy, not something handed off to the IT team and revisited once a year.”<\/p>\n That distinction matters because everything else, including AI adoption, specialist coordination, and a unified client view, flows from that decision. Firms running disconnected pilots that never scale are not failing at technology, but leadership prioritization.<\/p>\n