Introduction
After another successful year of partnering with our clients, the Fi-Tek team is looking forward to 2026. We wanted to share a few of the trends that we believe will continue to shape wealth management over the next several years.
Continued consolidation of wealth managers and service providers adds fuel to the convergence of wealth
A WealthManagement.com survey found that more than half (52%) of RIAs are positioning themselves as potential buyers in the mergers and acquisitions market. While Harvard Law School reported in late December that M&A deal volume for banks in the United States was on pace to reach approximately $2.3 trillion, up 49% from 2024.
More telling was the number of very large deals, with four $40 billion-plus transactions. There were no deals of this size in 2024.
The rise of digital assets, starting with tokenization
There have been two significant developments in the definition of the regulatory environment for digital assets. First, the GENIUS Act provided the framework for banks to offer stablecoins and clarified the Federal Government’s position on a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The SEC also issued a no-action letter to the DTC regarding the development and launch of a preliminary version of its voluntary securities tokenization program on supported blockchains that meet DTC’s technology standards. This will enable the tokenization of security entitlements to eligible securities.
Any DTC participant with a registered wallet will be able to transfer its tokenized entitlement directly to the registered wallet of another DTC participant. We can also expect further clarity on the role of the SEC and the CFTC in defining additional regulations.
Growing threats across ecosystems raise the importance of strong cybersecurity infrastructure
Our 2025 benchmarking study found that your second biggest concern was cyber and data security, trailing only the transfer of wealth. Fraudsters are using AI and advanced technology to launch faster, more convincing attacks.
Firms must protect themselves against deepfakes, synthetic identity creation, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Increasing impact of mass affluent and emerging wealth investors
Defined as investors with between $250K and $1M in investable assets, Capgemini reported that the mass affluent sector represents 40% of global wealth, with mass affluent investors in the United States expected to account for approximately $42 trillion of wealth.
Front-office scale becomes more critical to a seamless client experience
Firms are looking to increase efficiency and streamline operations to build a scalable foundation that allows revenue to grow faster than costs. This enables a focus on profitability and strategic resource allocation rather than simply adding headcount.
AI may hold the key to delivering the required scale. KeyBank found that the top two drivers of AI investment were improved operational efficiency and productivity (71%) and improved decision-making and management (60%).
