Accenture: under a third of wealth managers are scaling AI
While 84% of North American wealth managers believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will transform their industry in the next five years, a recent Accenture report identified that only 28% are scaling it today across their businesses.
“The findings suggest that although wealth managers are eager to embrace AI, they largely haven’t been able to move beyond experimentation toward widespread organizational application at scale. They also appear to underestimate the long-term value of AI, coupled with data and analytics, to reinvent the client experience and empower advisors to have more personalized client conversations and sell the right products at the right moments in their clients’ lives,” commented Scott Reddel, who leads Accenture’s wealth management practice in North America.
The report by Accenture titled ‘From Experimental to Exponential – AI: Built to Scale in Wealth Management’ surveyed 100 technology and business C-level executives at wealth management firms in the US and Canada.
Key findings from the report:
- 72% are focused on either experimenting with AI in siloed proof of concepts or deploying it across targeted business groups instead of scaling it
- 85% believe that the promise of AI in wealth management is currently more hype than a reality, however 79% are eager to adopt AI tools for improved efficiencies and enhancements
- 65% of respondents believe AI can provide the most long term value in the middle office or operations, whereas 35% believe it can improve client experiences and engagement
- 62% believed the benefits of AI is to attract new clients, while 61% said to increase client services, 84% also believed that the client experience could be transformed in the next year with the help of AI tools
- 49% of respondents indicate that they plan to deploy AI to automate routine, accounting and other support tasks
- 70% of respondents believe that AI will create less than a 20% improvement in cost savings, or revenue growth (64%) in the first year, however in two to three years most believed that there will be a 20% or more increase in both the top and bottom line
“Wealth managers have to embrace AI and data and analytics at scale to transform the digital wealth experience and the very nature of advice. The next generation of wealth only engages on a technological dimension. AI can enable financial advisors to bring better insights to clients and engage their full wealth and capabilities rather than the fragments they serve today,” commented Michael Spellacy, a senior managing director at Accenture and global capital markets industry lead.
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