Despite the majority (87%) of UK wealth managers believing AI will be integral to the future of their profession, 55% of investors refuse to use any form of AI for investment advice.
This is according to research from Avaloq, which also found 65% believe AI can help create automatic summaries of client meetings, automated compliance monitoring (64%) and automated regulatory checks (61%).
Still, enthusiasm for AI is far from universal; 24% of wealth managers believe their clients could never trust AI for investment and 27% said their clients would never trust AI when it comes to financial planning.
This distrust is matched by UK investors, as only 7% would feel comfortable fully relying on AI for investment advice.
However, over a third (38%) support a hybrid approach, with AI tools supporting their wealth managers.
The uptake of robo-advisers also remains limited, with just 6% of affluent to ultra-high-net-worth investors currently using them.
Avaloq head of data science & analytics Gery Zollinger said: “UK wealth managers recognise the enormous potential for AI to support them. The potential use cases are vast, from automated processes that 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 bridging 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 remains transparent and well-understood.
“AI can augment the service advisers provide to their clients, but the human element will always be vital.”
In order to obtain these results, Avaloq surveyed 3,012 affluent to (ultra-) high-net-worth investors and 341 wealth-management professionals. The research covered 11 European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
