Over 80 percent (84%) of North American wealth managers agree that AI will transform the industry in the next five years, according to a new report from Accenture. While it’s no a wide ranging industry wide movement yet, almost a third said they were currently scaling it across theur business.
For the report, Accenture interviewed 100 strategy, digital and technology executives across a range of North American wealth management firms. Their results demonstrate that “most wealth managers see a real opportunity to move the financial needle by adopting AI over the next two to three years. However, more than 80% of firms are stuck in the proof of concept stage today, with efforts narrowly siloed within a department or team. This inability to scale is a significant barrier to unleashing the greatest benefits from AI and strengthening competitive position,” explains the report. Still that means almost 20 percent of firms are already off to the AI races.
Overall, there is a bit of butting the heads as it seems the wealth management world is eager to adopt AI tools, but doesn’t want to get caught up in the hype. IN fact 79% of wealth managers surveyed said they were eager to adopt AI tools that deliver improved efficiencies and enhancements. While at the same time 85% believed that AI in the industry was more hype than reality.
While there is certainly some hype to the benefits of advanced technology and the unknown heights of AI technology, the COVID-19 pandemic has made one thing clear, wealthy clients now demand highly digitized experiences. According to Accenture, that along with ongoing fee pressure and increased competition from investment banks in the wealth management world are pushing adoption.
For those wealth managers who are hesitant to get aboard, there’s a good chance they are underestimating the long-term value of AI and how it could transform the wealth management customer experience--some can’t even see the long-term value in the middle office — including investment management. Over the last five decades, computers, the internet, email, and virtual meetings have all come to the forefront of the industry. More and more advisors seem to be thinking AI could be next.
Afterall, given the proper data and analytics, AI could have a serious impact on the client experience, helping advisors deliver a more personalized experience to clients. Furthermore, it has the potential to provide always-on and tailored client engagement, dynamic and customized product recommendations, improved efficiency by relieving advisors of routine tasks, and automation to reduce costs in the middle and back office. AI could even unlock client insights that generate actionable leads and opportunities to help acquire new clients, improve cross-selling and manage client attrition.
For almost a third of advisors, the future is already here, the question is how long it will take everyone else to get on board.
