High net worth (HNW) advisers are reshaping portfolios to meet client expectations for personalisation, manage macroeconomic instability concerns, and put a greater emphasis on technology, according to MSCI.

Its study of wealth management professionals found that global instability, new market opportunities, advances in artificial intelligence (AI), and rising client expectations were reshaping how advisers built portfolios.

Client expectations for personalisation have become almost universal, with 98 per cent of new HNW portfolios including some degree of customisation, a significant increase from 2025’s study that showed 60 per cent of advisers expected clients to demand some form of personalisation.

More than half (53 per cent) of survey respondents cited end-investor demand for thematic exposure as a top driver of personalisation.

Meanwhile, direct indexing was continuing to expand as a scalable engine for custom portfolio construction, with 62 per cent of wealth firms expecting direct indexing usage to grow over the next three years, while 59 per cent saw it as essential for serving HNW clients.

“Personalisation has moved from a differentiator to a baseline expectation in wealth management,” said MSCI global head of wealth, Alex Kokolis.

“Nearly every new HNW portfolio now reflects some level of customisation, as clients seek investments aligned with their goals, values and evolving views on risk.

“The challenge for advisers is no longer whether to personalise, but how to do so at scale while maintaining efficiency, consistency and transparency.”

The study also highlighted a notable increase in wealth managers’ concerns about macroeconomic instability affecting client portfolios, and their greater emphasis on technology and client-centric investment design.

Almost all (86 per cent) respondents cited heightened concern about new tariffs and global uncertainty, and most of those were significantly more likely to reduce US equity holdings.

Nearly three quarters (61 per cent) planned to increase allocations to non-US developed markets, while just a third expected to increase US equity exposure and 48 per cent planned to increase emerging market exposure.

“Wealth management is going through a period of transition,” commented MSCI head of wealth for EMEA and APAC, Hassan Suffyan.

“While navigating heightened geopolitical concerns and uncertainty, wealth managers must keep pace with increased expectations for portfolio personalisation and technological change driven by AI.

“Outside the US, wealth managers told us that market concentration is pushing their clients to look to a wide range of developed and emerging markets for resilience and new sources of growth.”

Private market and alternative assets were becoming a core component of end-investor portfolios, with almost three quarters planning to increase allocations.

More than eight in 10 (83 per cent) respondents said offering a robust suite of private market solutions was becoming essential to their work with clients.

With portfolios becoming more complex, advisers were increasingly pairing exchange-traded funds (ETF) with private assets allocations to maintain liquidity and tactical flexibility, with 83 per cent saying that ETFs will become more commonplace in client portfolios.

Meanwhile, AI adoption has accelerated in the wealth management industry over the past year, with 68 per cent viewing it as critical for competitiveness.

Nearly half (44 per cent) said they were lagging behind the financial services industry, while 95 per cent expected to increase AI investment.

“AI is rapidly becoming a core capability in wealth management – but its role is evolving differently than in other parts of finance,” said MSCI Research and Development team executive director, Joseph Wickremasinghe.

“Advisers worldwide are using AI to enhance efficiency, improve portfolio construction and support personalisation, rather than to replace human judgment.

“As data quality and integration improve, AI’s impact will deepen across the entire investment lifecycle.”

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