What AI Might Mean for Wealth Management

I have been spending time thinking about what AI will actually do to wealth management.

Most of the industry talk is polarized. Some firms are breathless about AI replacing advisors entirely. Others insist nothing will change because “clients need people.” Both views miss the more subtle and practical reality.

AI will change the economics of the industry. It will automate big chunks of work that advisors used to charge for. At the same time, it will highlight which parts of the job are genuinely valuable.

Here is how I see it.

1. The mechanical parts of wealth management will get cheaper

Performance reporting, portfolio construction, cash flow forecasting, tax-loss harvesting. These can all be done with AI at scale.

Morgan Stanley is a good example. They are rolling out OpenAI-powered “Next Best Action” tools on their advisor platform. Advisors get automated client insights, reminders, and suggested advice. It saves time and improves consistency, but it does not change the advisor’s core value to the client.

AI makes the advisor more efficient, but they also make the baseline service level cheaper to deliver. That means clients will expect more for the same fee — or the same for less.

2. AI will not replace trust, judgment, or access

Advisors often tell themselves their real value is in relationships, and that is sometimes true. That will be tested.

If you are charging high fees for tasks that can be automated, clients will notice. What they will keep paying for is the part that AI cannot do.

• Understanding client psychology well enough to guide them through volatility.

• Knowing their family dynamics and long-term goals.

• Having access to opportunities and people they cannot get on their own.

• Delivering judgment that comes from experience, not a prompt.

AI will not eliminate the need for these. It will expose whether you really deliver them.

3. Unbundling is coming

Most wealth managers sell a bundle: planning, portfolio construction, implementation, reporting, service.

When parts of that bundle become cheap or free, clients will start asking why they are paying for the whole thing.

This has already happened in other parts of financial services. It is coming for wealth management.

Some firms will go low-cost and lean heavily on automation. Others will focus on the high-trust, high-touch, high-access model. The worst position will be in the middle.

4. At 3i, this is core to how we think

We do not pretend AI is going to tell someone how to live their financial life better than they can, or better than their advisor can.

What we do see is that AI can make the network more valuable.

• We use AI to match members to deals that fit their interests, experience, and style.

• We use it to summarize investment materials so they can evaluate more opportunities quickly.

• We identify introductions between members who can help each other or partner on deals.

We are not using AI to replace judgment. We are using it to remove noise. The real value is still in the human parts — access, relationships, and trust.

5. The real question

If you work in wealth management, the question is not whether AI will replace you.

It is whether your clients are really paying you for the parts that can be automated, or for the parts that cannot.

At 3i, we believe that in a world where information is free and tools are cheap, trust and access will be the real scarcities.