Under pressure to defend their role, the wealth management sector is introducing technology-led tools designed to deliver more immediate and personalized communication.
Large language model chatbots and video-driven social media ‘finfluencers’ are encroaching on what has traditionally been wealth managers’ turf.
The personalized and instant nature of online advice is threatening to dilute the ‘first port of call’ role that banks and wealth managers have long benefited from.
“Human advisors were ultimately where people would go first for advice and support, but the risk is that this edge is being lost,” said James Papadopoulos, head of Americas at Fitch Learning.
This is increasingly important amid a generational wealth transfer that is handing younger investors — who expect speed and intuitive delivery — significant wealth, he said.
“What has changed is how fast the UHNW segment can now move to an alternative solution that can provide either a better return or faster, more personalized and specific products that can be manufactured in near real time,” added Papadopoulos.
The new technology is not necessarily changing the advice, but the way that it is distributed, with convenience prioritized over established relationships.
In response, the industry is rolling out similar tools, with firms arguing that speed matters to clients, but not at the expense of trust or accuracy.
Citigroup took a visible step recently, with the launch of City Sky, an “always-on AI-powered member of the Citi Wealth team” that is also “designed to inform and support client decision‑making rather than act independently.”
The product gives clients instant access to insights from Citi’s analysts and CIO using generative agentic AI, said Citi’s head of wealth intelligence Joe Bonanno in an email.
“Citi Sky is meant to complement, not replace, in‑person advice,” wrote Bonanno. “It can support ongoing engagement, education, and exploration between meetings, while human advisors remain essential for complex judgment, emotional context, and accountability.”
For fiduciary and regulatory reasons, the tool can’t make changes to client portfolios.
Wealth managers are also introducing new technology to retain clients by focusing on pressure points, such as communicating with financially unsophisticated clients.
InvestSuite recently launched Story Teller in the U.S., which allows wealth managers to generate personalized portfolio reports and use podcasts, interactive walk throughs and other methods to engage clients.
“A lot of UHNW clients have a lot of money but don’t truly understand their investments, and that puts a strain on the advisor or portfolio manager,” said David Connor, managing director for North America at InvestSuite. “I don’t know how many conversations I have had where clients have a glossy eyed look when you go over something complicated, and they say, ‘look, I trust you.’”
But clients need to understand their investments, so they don’t make rash decisions, he said. “We are trying to educate the client for long term investing.”
