While the majority of UK wealth managers view artificial intelligence (AI) as critical to shaping their future operations, distrust remains among clients, according to a recent survey by Avaloq.
The digital banking solutions provider said 87% of UK wealth managers believe AI will be integral to their future work, with the same proportion believing that the technology will bring benefits to the wealth management industry as a whole.
Client on boarding was shown to offer the greatest potential for AI to support UK wealth managers with 86% of those surveyed saying it would create a major improvement. A further 65% cited automatic summaries of client meetings as a key area where AI could help, while 64% said automated compliance monitoring and 61% cited automated regulatory checks.
Despite this, a quarter (24%) of UK wealth managers believe their clients could never trust AI for investment and a similar number (27%) say their clients would never trust AI when it comes to financial planning.
The sentiment was echoed by UK investors with just 7% noting they would feel comfortable fully relying on AI for investment advice, compared to 38% who would support a hybrid approach with AI supporting their wealth manager. More than half (55%) refused to use any form of AI involvement for investment advice.
Gery Zollinger, head of data science and analytics at Avaloq, said: “UK wealth managers recognise the enormous potential for AI to support them. The potential use cases are vast from automated processes which free up more time for managers to focus on clients and strategic decision-making to streamlined analytics and cost-effective services that expand access to advice.
“That said, there is still clearly a way to go when it comes to bridge the AI trust gap between wealth managers and their clients. For AI to be successful from a client perspective, wealth managers need to work closely with their clients to demonstrate the value AI can bring to their portfolios while ensuring that the use and impact of the technology remain transparent and well understood. AI can augment the service advisers provide their clients, but the human element will always be vital.”
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