Portfolio management is entering a decisive transition. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how wealth and asset managers process data, run analysis, and scale their operations. But after years of working closely with wealth managers, one thing is clear: technology alone will not define who succeeds in this next phase.
A recent Financial Times article by Yuri Bender captures this shift well. It brings together different industry perspectives on how AI is being deployed today and where its real impact lies. Many of the challenges described strongly reflect what we see at Unique in our day-to-day work with wealth management firms.
AI is already transforming how firms handle data, research, and internal processes. Larger datasets, faster computing, and more advanced models are making analysis quicker and more scalable than ever before. In that sense, AI is a powerful accelerator.
At the same time, much of traditional portfolio management has become commoditised. Index products and ETFs have simplified market access, and AI reinforces this trend by making similar analytical capabilities available to a broader set of players. As a result, product selection alone is no longer a sustainable differentiator.
This shift forces firms to rethink where they actually create value for clients.
What often gets underestimated in discussions about AI is adoption. Building or buying sophisticated technology is one thing. Embedding it into daily workflows and changing how people work is something entirely different.
In our early days at Unique, we experienced this first-hand. Even when firms were excited about AI and willing to invest, getting advisers to actively use new tools took time. Internal culture, habits, and incentives matter far more than most technology roadmaps acknowledge.
This is why we are sceptical of approaches that frame AI primarily as a technology game. Large platform partnerships and generic tools rarely drive meaningful change on their own. Real progress happens when solutions are designed around the realities of wealth management and introduced in a way that supports advisers rather than overwhelms them.
There is a lot of hype around AI outperforming markets or replacing investment decision-making. In practice, the biggest value today comes from efficiency gains.
Across the industry, cost-income ratios are under pressure. AI is already helping firms improve research workflows, streamline compliance and KYC processes, and support client servicing at scale. These gains are real and meaningful, even if they are less glamorous than predictive portfolio models.
At Unique, we focus on this pragmatic impact. When AI saves advisers time every week and allows them to serve more clients without sacrificing quality, adoption follows naturally. Strong internal champions play a critical role here. When advisers see peers benefiting from the technology, momentum builds.
Despite all the progress in automation, I strongly believe that the human factor remains central in wealth management. Financial decisions are deeply personal. Empathy, trust, and judgment still matter, and these are not qualities AI can replicate.
One of the most common frustrations I hear from clients is receiving generic research or standardized house views that are barely relevant to their situation. This is where AI can make a real difference. Not by removing advisers from the equation, but by giving them better tools to tailor information, surface what matters, and deepen client relationships.
Used correctly, AI allows advisers to focus more on conversations, context, and long-term goals. It can supercharge the human element rather than dilute it.
The Financial Times article highlights a broader truth about where the industry is heading. AI will continue to reshape operations, but differentiation will come from how firms combine technology with culture, adoption, and human-centric service.
From my perspective, the winners will be those who treat AI as an enabler of better client relationships, not just a lever for cost reduction. The next era of portfolio management will not be defined by smarter algorithms alone, but by how intelligently firms integrate them into the way they work with people.