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Personalisation remains the industry’s biggest opportunity

Artificial intelligence is opening new possibilities across wealth management. Yet the industry’s greatest challenge remains unchanged: delivering personalised advice at scale.

Insights from Capgemini’s 2026 World Wealth Report, its 30th edition, are based on surveys and interviews with over 6,500 high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) (USD 1 million+ in investable assets), wealth management executives and relationship managers (RMs) worldwide. The key takeaway? A growing gap between client expectations and current delivery models.

By the end of 2025, global HNWI wealth had climbed to an impressive USD 98.3 trillion (GBP 73.1 trillion). Yet this rising tide did not translate into stronger client satisfaction. Fewer than one in five clients surveyed (17%) reported receiving a seamless, personalised advisory experience, highlighting a growing disconnect between wealth creation and service delivery.

HNWI investors are diversifying assets across providers to access specialist services like alternative investments access, estate planning, and tax advice. From 2022 to 2025, about USD 1.5 trillion (GBP 1.1 trillion) in new assets under advice accrued to competitors instead of traditional wealth managers, highlighting the rising challenge of meeting evolving client expectations.

Closing this gap requires more than new digital tools. It demands a transformation of the wealth operating model built on three pillars.

1. Expand access to specialist capabilities – Today’s clients demand more than portfolio management. They seek access to private markets, lending, tax, and estate planning. And just offering these services isn't enough. Firms must integrate them into seamless client journeys that connect products, specialists, and RMs for a coordinated experience.
2. Enable RMs to orchestrate expertise – Relationship managers remain the foundation of client trust, but their role is changing. Increasingly, they are expected to coordinate expertise across multiple disciplines rather than act solely as investment advisers. Many firms struggle with this issue. RMs dedicate 41% of their time to operational tasks, and nearly one-third of HNWIs work directly with specialists after an initial introduction. Efficient coordination benefits firms, as more than half of clients whose RMs collaborate with specialists are inclined to recommend their wealth management firm, thereby enhancing loyalty and fostering long-term relationships.
3. Build an intelligence layer across the business – Augmented intelligence provides the connective tissue that brings together client data, specialist expertise, products, and workflows. This is not about replacing advisers with AI. It is about equipping advisers with timely insights so they can deliver more relevant, consistent advice at every interaction.

Successful transformation begins with solid data foundations, governance, and streamlined processes, enabling RMs to focus more on clients and less on operational tasks.

Experience shows that progress is best measured by business outcomes, not by technology deployment alone. Early signs of success include higher adoption among RMs and less administrative work. As an organisation matures, the focus can shift to client retention, share of wallet, and lifetime value. Throughout the journey, client satisfaction remains the ultimate measure of success.

Human expertise remains the ultimate differentiator

Artificial intelligence will reshape wealth management and the firms that pull ahead will be those that combine AI at scale with human judgment, deep expertise, and trusted relationships. As technology becomes ubiquitous, insight, conviction, and advice will become the true points of differentiation.

For a deeper look at the trends, data, and opportunities shaping the future of wealth management, read Capgemini’s 2026 World Wealth Report today.