Global wealth platform FNZ has published a roadmap for wealth management firms looking to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to advance their businesses.

The roadmap was developed alongside research, conducted in partnership with ThoughtLab, that highlighted the scale and speed at which AI was transforming the wealth and asset management industry.

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of financial executives believed AI was critical to the future of their business, with 63 per cent saying the technology would revolutionise the sector.

Firms were feeling the benefit of AI investment, with 88 per cent of executives reporting positive returns on AI investments, including 19 per cent recording returns of over 7 per cent.

Almost two thirds (62 per cent) said they had recouped the value of their investment within two years.

Platform and governance were identified as core differentiators, with 87 per cent of AI ‘leaders’ having made moderate or significant progress on integrated, cloud-enabled IT platforms, while 81 per cent had AI governance frameworks and policies in place, and 62 per cent felt clearer risk guidelines would accelerate adoption.

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of firms believed AI would catalyse a step-change in human productivity, allowing advisers to focus on relationships, strategy, and complex judgment while AI handles routine and administrative tasks.

Building on this research, FNZ has published a roadmap for those who want to “lead in the next stage of AI”, identifying a group of AI ‘leaders’ who were already reporting strong returns on their investments and highlighting the practices that worked for them.

It outlined four key strategies for firms aiming to scale their AI operations: adopting AI early to unlock return on investment; building an AI-ready IT and data foundation; embracing governance to shape the future of AI; and enhancing advisers without replacing them.

“AI is no longer a side project for the wealth and asset management industry; it is rapidly redefining the economics of advice,” commented FNZ group president, Roman Regelman.

“What this study shows, with real data, is just how far the leaders have already moved. They are building modern platforms, industrializing data and governance, and using AI to free advisers to do what only humans can do: understand goals, build trust and provide holistic guidance.

“At FNZ, we see this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to open up wealth. Our partnership with Microsoft and the launch of FNZ Advisor AI are about turning this roadmap into reality for our clients, helping them move from experimentation to scaled, responsible deployment of AI across the entire value chain. The firms that act now will set the standard for the next decade.”

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