Last year was a confusing and trying time for many wealth management firms, with volatile markets, rising interest rates, two wars and a banking crisis that saw several financial institutions fail. Many factors are likely to persist through 2024, to which we can add a presidential election sure to be anything but stabilizing.
Analysts at Datos Insights, an industry researcher and consultant (formerly Aite-Novarica), believe 2024 could bring partial relief but warn that advisory firms should hedge their bets and be more proactive about leveraging some of the tools and resources that promised to make life better in 2023.
The Datos wealth management team, along with Director of Securities and Investments Will Trout, shared the top trends they expect to see shape the wealth management industry this year—and, unsurprisingly, many are related to the application of AI technology.
“For the current time being, it's not possible to forecast the end of fighting or political polarization,” Trout said during a webinar Wednesday. “In that context, it's really key that wealth managers put their heads down, focus on providing advisors with the right tools and the right kind of data connectivity, enabling them to set up succession plans for transitioning their practices to younger advisors and ultimately offering more focus and execution.”