That is the clear conclusion from FNZ’s global study into the role of AI in wealth management in the agentic era. Developed in partnership with ThoughtLab, the research surveyed 500 financial institutions across 16 international markets, representing US$74.2 trillion in assets under management. The findings show that AI is not replacing advisors. Instead, it is changing how work gets done and where human expertise matters most.
AI is driving a step-change in productivity
At the heart of the shift is productivity. Nearly three quarters of firms (73%) believe AI will drive a step-change in human productivity. Rather than removing advisors from the process, AI is taking on routine, time-consuming tasks and freeing advisors to focus on higher-value work.
Across the industry, firms are already deploying GenAI to support investment advisors and planners. These tools are saving many hours each week by automating activities such as meeting notes, compliance processes, CRM updates and drafting follow-up emails. The research shows that 56% of firms are already using GenAI to draft and personalize communications, summarize meetings, and update client records.
By automating these repetitive tasks, advisors are able to concentrate more fully on the human elements of their role. Skills such as empathy, listening and emotional support are becoming more important, not less, because they are qualities clients value and technology cannot replicate.
Enhancing client engagement, not removing it
AI is also changing how advisors understand and engage with clients with more than half already using GenAI to gain deeper insight into client needs and preferences.
These capabilities help advisors respond faster, tailor interactions more effectively, and manage larger client books – without sacrificing quality. Rather than distancing advisors from clients, AI is supporting more consistent, informed and personalized engagement.
A growing role in investment decision-making
AI’s influence is also expanding within investment strategy. Advisors are expected to do a better job of optimizing portfolios by drawing on AI-enhanced data analysis. As the volume and complexity of investment data grows, AI can help surface insights, test scenarios and support more informed decision-making.
This study indicates that this trend will continue. More firms now expect asset allocation to become majority AI-led, rising from 30% today to 34% in the future. While AI will play a bigger role in analysis and execution, the research makes clear that human oversight remains essential to ensure decisions reflect client objectives, risk tolerance and sound judgment.
Agentic AI is emerging, but oversight remains critical
The next phase of this evolution is agentic AI, systems that can take more autonomous actions within defined parameters. Today, usage remains limited, with just 9% of firms deploying agentic AI. However, adoption is expected to double over the next three years as capabilities mature and confidence grows.
Even as these technologies advance, the need for human oversight does not disappear. Across wealth firms, teams will require a combination of digital expertise and human judgment. Data specialists will validate outputs, operations teams will manage exceptions, and advisors will retain accountability for decisions that affect client outcomes.
What changes is not the need for people, but where their time and expertise are applied: less manual processing, and more focus on strategic thinking, empathy and complex judgment.
Closing the advice gap
For Roman Regelman, Group President of FNZ, the implications extend beyond efficiency gains. He sees AI as a powerful equalizer for the industry, enabling personalized wealth management advice to reach a far broader audience. By improving scalability and reducing costs, AI has the potential to help close the long-standing advice gap between high-net-worth and retail investors.
Regelman anticipates that this shift will also drive a fundamental change in business models, moving away from traditional B2B and B2C approaches toward a more customer-centric model he describes as “C2B”, or customer-to-business.
This view is shared more widely across the industry. As April Rudin, CEO of the Rudin Group, observes: “AI enables financial advisors to make quicker and better decisions, which in turn benefits investors. Its ability to scale especially helps global firms that want to offer the same capabilities wherever they are.”
Advisors remain central to the future of advice
The message from the research is clear. Advisors are not going anywhere. AI is reshaping how advice is delivered, but the human role remains central. As technology takes on routine and operational tasks, advisors are freed to focus on what only humans can do: building trust, understanding goals and exercising judgement in complex situations.
For firms navigating the next phase of AI adoption, the challenge is not choosing between people and technology. It is designing operating models that combine both effectively. At FNZ, this means building platforms and workflows that embed AI safely and responsibly into the day-to-day work of advisors, while preserving human oversight and accountability.
Firms that get this balance right will be the ones that use AI to enhance human capability, not replace it, and in doing so set a new standard for wealth management in the years ahead.
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