Chances are you’ve heard the words ‘AI’ and ‘generational wealth transfer’ more than once. These are two of the biggest topics shaping the future of financial advice and they’re not going away anytime soon. So, what do advisers actually think about all this? That’s exactly what FE fundinfo set out to find in their latest financial adviser survey, digging into real-world challenges and opportunities facing advisers today. To unpack the findings, IFA Magazine sat down with David Scholes, Director of Wealth Sales at FE fundinfo.
David’s been at the firm since 2007 and knows the advice space inside out. From integration headaches to the surprisingly enthusiastic take-up of AI, here’s what he had to say about the recent survey results.
The great integration headache
For many advisers, the day-to-day reality of tech is less about innovation and more about irritation. According to FE fundinfo’s survey, one of the biggest pain points is the lack of integration between different systems.
“81% of advisers favour one to three integrated systems over multiple best of breed,” David explained. “A third of our respondents believe they could serve more than 20 additional clients with a fully integrated system.”
That’s a big deal. For years, advisers have followed the ‘best of breed’ model, choosing the top individual tools for each task. The result? A patchwork of software that often doesn’t play nicely together.
“You need a risk profiling tool… a cashflow tool… a suitability tool… I could go on,” said David. “Even if your solutions integrate, the final reports they kick out are completely different to one another. One’s landscape, one’s portrait. One has your logo, the other doesn’t.”
No wonder there’s a growing demand for tech stacks that actually talk to each other. FE fundinfo is working on this through their Nexus platform, aiming to deliver a slicker experience for advisers and clients alike.
AI: from hype to real-world help
Let’s be honest: AI isn’t just the buzzword of the year; it’s the buzzword of the decade. But FE fundinfo’s survey suggests advisers aren’t just curious about AI. Many are already using it in practical ways.
“It was high 90s, kind of 95%, 96%, came back and said, ‘Yeah, we’re using AI’,” David said. That might be as simple as using ChatGPT to answer a quick tax question, but it shows widespread adoption is already underway.
More interestingly, around 27% of advisers said they’re using AI to help with meeting notes, an early glimpse into how AI can boost productivity.
“That’s where we’re seeing a nice, comfortable home with AI,” said David. “Advisers adopting AI to very quickly collate all of that client data during those meetings.”
This has the potential to be a game changer, especially when you consider that 61% of advisers said they spend around a fifth of their time sourcing client information.
Imagine asking a system for a client’s pension valuation or a fund’s five-year performance, by voice or simple text, and getting instant results, no training manuals required. That’s the vision. And it’s closer than you might think.
A powerful partnership?
Another fascinating AI use case? Compliance.
“I think we’ll see probably a rise of that,” said David. “Can I feed in my suitability report and the AI agent will eyeball it and dynamically give me a green light or a red light?”
With Consumer Duty now fully live and regulatory pressure mounting, it’s not hard to see the appeal.
David also acknowledged that many advisers are still cautious about new tech, often because learning new software is a major barrier. “That learning curve is going to be obliterated by AI, you would imagine.”
It’s a future where advisers can spend less time battling systems and more time focusing on clients. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Time to step up
If AI is reshaping the how of financial advice, the generational wealth transfer is reshaping the who. Billions are set to move from baby boomers to their Gen X and Millennial children and advisers need to be ready.
“It’s a critical and difficult conversation to be had,” said David. “How can the adviser industry kind of step up to that challenge?”
His first suggestion? Get active on social media, especially LinkedIn.
“It never ceases to amaze me how few advisers post on LinkedIn,” he said. “Most of the generation that are going to be adopting that wealth is in their professional years, their 40s, their 50s. You’d imagine the vast majority of those guys are going to be on LinkedIn.”
And while the term ‘finfluencer’ might make some roll their eyes, David pointed out that younger investors are often more influenced by those voices than by traditional advisers. Having a presence on platforms like LinkedIn is no longer optional, it’s essential.
He also believes that today’s and tomorrow’s investors will expect more tailored, sophisticated investment solutions.
“We’re seeing a trend play out with MPS,” he explained. “We’ve now got more tailored MPS on our database than standard… but at the moment, it’s only tailoring it to the advice firm. It’s not tailoring it to the client.”
True personalisation, building a portfolio that aligns not just with risk profile but with personal values and knowledge, will be key as expectations evolve.
Tailoring advice for a digital first-generation
David offered a compelling picture of what that might look like: “In my imaginary world, I’m an investor with certain ESG principles… I would hate to think that a penny of my pension is going towards the armaments industry.”
Or maybe it’s about sector conviction: “I work in the banking sector, and I’ve been here for 20 years… I want to make sure my pension is invested in some of that.”
Right now, creating that kind of bespoke portfolio is incredibly complex and often out of reach for all but the wealthiest clients. But as technology, particularly AI, evolves, so too will the possibilities for personalisation at scale.
The future is already here
What came through loud and clear in this conversation was that advisers are more open to change than they’re often given credit for. They’re already using AI. They’re hungry for better tech integration. And they’re starting to adapt to the shifting needs of the next generation of clients.
There’s still work to do, especially around upskilling, improving interfaces, and engaging younger investors. But the momentum is real.
So, if you’re an adviser wondering whether to embrace AI, refresh your tech stack, or finally start posting on LinkedIn, David’s message is pretty clear: don’t wait.
Because the future has already arrived.
Research
To read the full research from FE fundinfo you can access it here: https://hubs.ly/Q03rG9Z50.
About David Scholes
David Scholes is Director of Wealth Sales at FE fundinfo. He is responsible for ensuring that FE fundinfo’s solutions provide the necessary features to keep clients competitive and compliant, and for educating clients on how to use those solutions most effectively. In his almost 20 years at FE fundinfo, David has worked across the life and pension team, advisers, and most recently, strategic clients to understand and deploy cutting-edge software and investment solutions
