84 pc wealth management firms need operating model reset for AI, under 10 pc ready: HCLTech study

As many as 84 per cent of global wealth management firms acknowledge that their operating models require a fundamental redesign to realise the promise of artificial intelligence (AI), but less than 10 per cent are prepared for the transition, according to a study released on Monday by IT services major HCLTech.

The report, titled 'Hidden In Pl(AI)n Sight', revealed that while 98 per cent of leadership teams in the wealth management sector are actively pursuing an AI agenda, slightly over 7 per cent are actively building agentic AI capabilities.

In an interesting twist, HCLTech surveyed 1,066 “representative AI personas” modelled on senior wealth management decision-makers across 17 global markets for the research.

The findings highlighted three critical blind spots hindering firms from converting AI initiatives into measurable business outcomes: an "ambition blind spot", where firms recognise transformation needs but only fund efficiency gains; an "execution blind spot", where tech investments are not matched by investments in proprietary client data and insights; and a "strategy blind spot", where institutions track AI adoption rather than its impact on growth and revenue.

"The industry doesn't have an investment problem. It has a choice problem. Nearly every wealth management firm is spending on AI. Far fewer can say which programmes they are funding, how far AI actually reaches into the operating model, or whether they're measuring the outcomes that matter — new client value, growth and revenue models,” said Srinivasan Seshadri, Chief Growth Officer and Global Head of Financial Services, HCLTech.

The report noted significant geographic variations in readiness and confidence.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region led with 89 per cent confidence, followed closely by North America at 84 per cent, whereas Europe lagged significantly at 38.3 per cent. Executives surveyed ranked first-party and behavioural data as more critical differentiators than technology infrastructure, cloud platforms, or external AI partnerships.

Additionally, nearly 80 per cent of respondents believe future industry leaders will be those who best orchestrate AI capabilities alongside human expertise and ecosystem partners.