Is technology a point-in-time priority for wealth managers and family offices? Or are we experiencing a broader shift where “change-the-business" tech spending, innovation, and AI are the future drivers of firms’ operational budgets?
I had the privilege of being a recent guest on The WealthTech Podcast with Mark Wickersham, where we discussed those questions and used Celent survey data to answer them. Our conversation touched on tech budgets for wealth managers and family offices, innovation, generative AI, and what’s in store for the future.
Here are the links to podcast on various platforms below. And below that, 3 highlights from our podcast conversation, pulling from the results of Celent’s Dimensions survey.
The WealthTech Podcast: WealthTech Survey Insights: What the Data Says About the Future, ft. Chris Bendtsen, Celent
Three Podcast Highlights:
1) “Change the business” technology spending is rising for wealth management firms in North America.
Celent asked technology leaders at wealth managers, brokerages, broker-dealers, banks, private banks, RIAs, and multi-family offices what percentage of their technology budgets are allocated to “Run the business costs” vs. “Change the business” spending. “Change the business” (i.e., innovation) spending rose from an average of 43% of respondents’ tech budgets in last year’s survey to 49% this year. This is the first year we’re seeing a near 50-50 split, as replacing legacy systems, migrating to the cloud, implementing new technologies like AI, new platforms like alternative investments, and leveraging open APIs all become greater priorities.
2) Wealth managers are quickly embracing generative AI.
Three-quarters of wealth management firms in North America are either live, piloting, or experimenting with generative AI. GenAI adoption jumped from 63% of firms in our 2024 survey up 77% in 2025. We’re seeing GenAI product features being launched from wealthtech vendors across prospecting, onboarding, meeting note-takers (a huge trend in 2025), CRM, and financial planning. We also know from the survey that code development is the most common GenAI use case that firms are live with today.
3) Wealth Management Leaders are Making Alternative Investments a Core Priority in 2025.
From the largest brokerages to mid-size wealth managers to smaller multi-family offices, 69% of all wealth management firms say enabling greater access to alternative investments and private markets is a core priority this year. And this isn’t just about access. This trend involves incorporating alts into the firm-wide portfolio construction process, and making operations and management more efficient from pre-investment sourcing through subscriptions through post-investment management and reporting. And what we’re seeing today is the unification of public and private investments through hybrid funds, hybrid model portfolios, and combining public and private investments within portfolio performance reporting.
Celent clients can dive deeper into the tech trends by reading our full research report: Dimensions: North America Wealth Management IT Pressures & Priorities 2025
