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ARTICLE
Wealth and asset management leaders call cybersecurity a major threat. How should they tackle it?
Leaders at wealth and asset management firms increasingly view cybersecurity as a top priority. In a recent survey of 249 industry executives, 68% of asset managers and 62% of wealth managers surveyed by Wipfli stated that cybersecurity is a major concern for their businesses in 2026. But how should firms and registered investment advisors (RIAs) actually take action to bolster their cybersecurity defenses? Keep reading to learn more about key security challenges facing the wealth and asset management sector, plus specific tools like tabletop exercises that firms can use to reduce their risk and respond more effectively to attacks. What are the major cybersecurity risks that wealth and asset management firms are facing today? In addition to the ever-present possibility of a cyberattack or data breach, wealth and asset management firms face an array of related risks. These include action from government regulators at the SEC, fraud and reputational damages resulting from a successful cyberattack. Here’s some more insight into the major cybersecurity and downstream risks for the wealth and asset management sector: Large-scale cyberattack: So far, the wealth and asset management industry has avoided any headline-grabbing cyberattacks. Still, the threat remains real, and firms also continue to be exposed to lower-level attacks that can cause harm and financial damage without breaching core systems . Reputational damage: Wealth and asset management is built on reputation. A significant attack carries major reputational risk, especially for smaller or mid-sized firms that have built their business on relationships rather than on a national profile that’s big enough to survive a breach. Individual payment fraud: Fraud, specifically around payouts, is a client risk area that firms should pay close attention to. For example, a client selling an investment could be tricked into sending the funds to a fraudster’s account rather than their own bank account. Regulatory action: SEC regulators overseeing registered investment advisors have been showing increasing concern over cybersecurity in the wealth and asset management sector, with regulators cracking down during examinations. Executives want to avoid trouble here, although some report frustrations with current SEC cybersecurity standards. How do wealth and asset management firms benefit from a stronger cybersecurity posture? Improved cybersecurity helps wealth and asset managers mitigate financial damages and potential liability, as well as avoid reputational harm. Firms also benefit from the ability to qualify for cybersecurity insurance and see other positive downstream effects from security planning like tabletop exercises. Mitigate financial damages and liability No cybersecurity system is foolproof. However, keeping your defenses up to date can significantly mitigate your risks by making you both less vulnerable to an attack and better able to quickly respond should a breach occur. This can help limit the financial damages you suffer during even a successful attack. Plus, stronger defenses and a faster response time can also help reduce your exposure to liability. Avoid reputational harm Most wealth advisors don’t have huge brands, so word-of-mouth reputation is a priceless asset. And nobody wants to be the firm that’s got everyone buzzing over client data that’s turned up on the dark web. Mid-sized firms in the $1 to $5 billion range face an especially high risk of being targeted for an attack, because they have enough assets to be a tempting target but typically lack the most advanced cybersecurity tools deployed by their larger competitors. Leaders at these firms should consider cyber an essential investment in their reputations — and consequently, in their growth opportunities. Qualify for cybersecurity insurance In the event of a data breach, cybersecurity insurance can help you significantly reduce your losses. But unless your business already has a strong cybersecurity posture, insurers won’t write you a policy. Incident response preparation Tabletop exercises and other scenario planning activities are a key aspect of bolstering your cybersecurity defenses. But these don’t just pay off by helping you feel more prepared to quickly respond to a data breach, but by helping your team feel more confident in responding to any number of crisis scenarios that could occur. Tabletop exercises: a key cybersecurity tool for wealth and asset management firms A tabletop exercise helps you and your team plan and practice how you will respond to a cybersecurity attack or critical incident. During the tabletop, you’ll be able to game out various scenarios to figure out what to do in the event of each. For example, let’s consider two different variations on a data breach. In the first, you accidentally expose sensitive client information in an email to a third party, while the second is a significant breach of your systems by a hacker. Both of these are cybersecurity incidents, but you would need to respond to each scenario quite differently. During a tabletop exercise, you would work through planning considerations like: How do you evaluate the impact of an incident? Who gets notified and when? Who handles the security response? How do you manage public relations and external comms? You want to have answers to all of these questions and more before you’re facing an incident, rather than trying to make up a response plan in the heat of the moment. And crucially, this planning process will also help prepare you for other incidents that may have nothing to do with cybersecurity but would still require an urgent response from your business. How should wealth and asset management executives take action to improve their cybersecurity defenses? CEOs, CFOs and chief compliance officers at wealth and asset management firms need to take an active role in bolstering their companies’ cyber defenses . Here are four key steps to take: 1. Reframe how you think about cyber It’s easy to view cyber as a cost center. But given the danger an attack poses to your reputation, it’s actually an investment in growth. If nothing comes up when potential clients google your firm and “cyberattack”, you’ll be better positioned to take on new business. 2. Leverage advisory support The vast majority of wealth management firms don’t have a large in-house IT team, let alone deep cybersecurity expertise. So lean on an advisory firm for help. Your advisor can help you understand the current threat environment, recommend improvements and work with your team to upgrade your systems, policies and processes to leave you more protected and better able to respond to an incident. Look for an advisor that knows both cybersecurity and the financial services sector, as you’ll need to navigate specific challenges like SEC compliance requirements. 3. Test your current cyber defenses to identify areas for improvement Work with your advisor to do penetration testing, social engineering tests, ransomware attack simulations and other exercises to find gaps or vulnerabilities in your current defenses. This process should also include a review of your policies and processes around data governance, access and other potential problem areas in your daily operations. Your advisor will be able to make specific recommendations and help you create a roadmap to implement any necessary changes. 4. Implement improvements and training After assessing your existing security gaps and creating a cybersecurity improvement roadmap, start putting it into action. Your advisor can help you upgrade your systems when needed, which may include elements like transitioning from in-house servers to cloud-based data storage. Training and policy changes are also key here. You’ll want to conduct tabletop exercises to train your team and develop your incident response plan. This should be part of a broader effort to update your policies and procedures to help ensure a stronger overall security posture. 2026 industry research reports: Learn how wealth and asset management is adapting to today’s challenges How are wealth and asset management leaders evolving to address the needs of today’s market? Wipfli spoke with 249 executives to understand the key challenges firms face in areas like growth, technology and risk management. Read the full wealth and asset management industry reports: Wealth management industry report Asset management industry report Read more Cybersecurity is a significant financial risk The 3 pillars of smarter cybersecurity program management Navigating regulatory challenges: essential tips for registered investment advisors
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Wealth and asset management firms want to better leverage AI and analytics. How do you get started?
Wealth and asset management firms are increasingly open to using AI and advanced analytics tools to drive growth. Roughly 90% of executives surveyed in Wipfli’s wealth management industry and asset management industry research reports stated that they were implementing or exploring AI solutions, with most also expressing excitement around boosting analytics capacities as well. However, only about one-third of responding firms had actually achieved a high level of AI usage, with the rest of the pack still lacking sophisticated AI capabilities. So how can leaders help their businesses to bridge this gap? Keep reading to find out. Why are more wealth and asset management firms exploring AI and analytics solutions? Think of your data as an asset. For wealth and asset management firms looking to grow, managing that asset and making it available in a form that benefits staff and clients should be a top priority. Well-managed and governed data delivered simply and clearly can help unlock new growth opportunities with both existing and potential clients. But unlike stocks or bonds, which can passively generate value, data needs to be actively managed and worked with in order to create returns. So how do you do that? Firms are looking to tech to solve a range of challenges The specific challenges here vary depending on the size of your firm. Smaller firms have relatively simple data objectives, primarily looking for tools to help manage accounts and track investment performance. Meanwhile, larger firms often face additional problems like managing clients across a wide array of services, as those services may operate based on different systems or platforms that may not be set up to share data with each other . This situation is often made even more complicated for wealth or asset managers that operate as part of a larger financial institution like a bank. Too often, firms of all sizes also continue to struggle with data governance or even simply organizing their data. Many still rely on outdated policies and spreadsheet-driven processes that eat up time and may risk human error. As a result, wealth and asset management executives are increasingly open to new AI and analytics capacities, which can give your firm the ability to get more value from your data. Let’s explore what that looks like. What benefits do better AI and analytics solutions deliver for wealth management firms? Properly implementing modern AI and analytics solutions helps wealth and asset managers to operate more efficiently and deliver stronger results. Managers can gain greater insights into trends, analyze historical patterns and lean on more accurate forecasting to better serve their clients. Here are some more in-depth benefits to consider: Learn more from your clients: Use dashboards and AI to analyze your client data to identify patterns, trends and other learnings that you can bring to your meetings with individual investors. This can help you better understand client needs at different life stages, like when purchasing a home, starting a family or preparing for retirement. Automate routine tasks: Spending hours painstakingly inputting numbers into spreadsheets doesn’t just take up time but also risks data-entry errors. Automating this sort of rote work can quickly free up your team for higher-level tasks. Lower barriers to entry: Newer AI and analytics tools can deliver a certain level of insight even if your data is not perfectly structured, although the quality of inputs still determines the quality of outputs. As these tools are typically built into existing apps, you also don’t need developer skills in order to implement them. Stronger FP&A analysis: In addition to using AI to provide forecasting models for your clients, your team will be able to perform stronger financial planning and analysis (FP&A) on your own business as well. This can help you set financial targets, monitor KPIs and model how moves like an M&A could play out. How do wealth and asset management firms begin improving their AI and analytics capabilities? You’re the CEO or CFO of a wealth management firm who’s eager to improve your firm's AI and analytics capabilities. So how do you get started? Here are five key action steps to take: 1. Champion your firm’s AI, analytics and data governance program You don’t have to become an AI expert. But you can help a lot by simply being the champion for upgrading your firm’s AI and analytics capacities. You’ll need an effective data governance program to oversee your data management and implement new AI and analytics tools . That’s the sort of program that often doesn’t get taken seriously without clear C-suite buy-in, so executive support is crucial here. 2. Leverage an external advisor With the world of tech changing at shocking speed, it’s likely that no one on your team has the requisite knowledge to develop a more effective data governance structure, choose new AI and analytics tools and implement them within your business. That’s OK. What you can do is turn to an outside advisory firm for support. Look for an advisor who understands both tech and the financial services industry. You need someone who knows both AI and the specific requirements of wealth and asset managers, from an operational, client-facing and regulatory perspective. 3. Assess your firm’s specific needs Work with your advisor to assess your firm’s specific needs around data, analytics and automation. Find the gaps in your current systems and processes that better AI and analytics tools can help you fill and then develop an AI roadmap to help you think through your implementation process. This sort of approach will help you get much more effective results than you’d see from simply buying everyone on your team a Copilot license without a plan in place. 4. Focus on targeted upgrades and set appropriate expectations You don’t have to suddenly become the most tech-savvy firm on the planet. Instead, focus on implementing targeted upgrades that will provide solutions to specific problems that your business faces. For example, you can accomplish a fair amount by properly using even basic AI tools, although you can’t expect, say, sophisticated forecasting without a proper data governance structure in place. Over time, you can build towards that latter, as well as more cutting-edge tools like AI agents that can automate large chunks of routine tasks. 5. Think in terms of relationships Wealth and asset management is a relationship business. You’re often not just managing money for the client named on the account, but their unnamed family members as well, and your relationships will often determine client longevity and even potentially create new business. So as you work to implement new technology, consider how new solutions can help you strengthen your relationships with clients (as well as your corporate partners). There’s no one right answer here, but this question should be a prominent one as you discuss your data and AI strategy and decide where to prioritize your efforts. Learn more about how wealth and asset management are adapting in 2026 How are wealth and asset management firms evolving to meet the changing demands of the sector? Wipfli interviewed 249 wealth and asset management executives to find out. Read the complete 2026 research reports to discover how leaders are approaching growth, AI, cybersecurity and more. Wealth management industry report Asset management industry report Read more Is it time for wealth management to responsibly add crypto? Why FP&A is essential for RIAs in a changing industry Is your tech stack helping or hurting your business?
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Wealth and asset management firms need a CRM to drive organic growth
Mid-market wealth and asset management firms are looking to grow in 2026. But CEOs eager to expand assets under management face a problem: outdated or underutilized technology is putting them at a disadvantage compared to larger rivals. By implementing an effective customer relationship management (CRM) platform, wealth management firms can close the technology gap to drive organic growth via both current and potential clients. Keep reading to learn more. Wealth management firms will struggle to grow without the right client engagement tools Most wealth and asset management leaders broadly understand the value of growth technology tools like a CRM. Eighty-five percent of wealth management executives surveyed for Wipfli’s industry report said that collecting, managing and analyzing data were essential to their growth strategies , while 68% of asset management executives said the same. However, leaders have struggled to turn that awareness into action. Here are some of the key technology challenges wealth and asset management firms face: Lack of confidence: In part because there are so many different tech solutions available on the market, many leaders are hesitant to pull the trigger on any one particular tool. An abundance of options is actually driving indecision. Overreliance on M&As versus organic growth: Many firms have leaned into M&As to drive growth. While this has increased AUM, it has also allowed leaders to ignore tech problems that are limiting organic growth. Not maximizing existing systems: Having a CRM is one thing, but using it effectively is another. For example, if your CRM doesn’t facilitate identifying both your current and future clients through all of your various systems and business lines, it isn’t doing you much good. In addition, wealth managers must also confront a climate of broad economic uncertainty that has left many clients less willing to change horses midstream. This shrinks the pool of potential new clients, which puts an additional premium on the ability to attract new clients through personalized client engagement and quick responses to shifting client needs. How does a CRM help wealth and asset managers boost engagement and growth? A fully integrated CRM drives growth and boosts AUM by helping you deliver a more targeted, personalized experience for current and potential clients. It does this by connecting with your portfolio and performance data, planning tools, marketing automation, service or case management and digital client portals to give your whole team better client context and faster follow-through . You’ll be able to track client or prospect responses, behaviors and triggers across every point of contact that person has with your business, giving you greater insight into what your clients want so you can more effectively meet their needs. Here’s a more detailed rundown on key CRM benefits: 1. Stronger client experience With a CRM, you’re able to monitor every interaction a client has with your organization. This means every time anyone on your team speaks with a client (or a potential client), they’ll be able to draw on insights gleaned from previous conversations with that client to deliver a more personal, consistent experience even across different verticals. Clients love this because they feel more clearly understood. And crucially, it also helps smaller and mid-sized wealth management firms keep up with the bar set by their larger competitors. 2. Improved team performance Greater insight into your clients makes everyone in your wealth management organization better at their jobs. Your whole team will be on the same page, and advisors will be able to take a more proactive approach during client meetings, proposing real-time solutions based on individualized client data ranging from how close that client is to retirement age to in-the-moment AI-tracked sentiment indicators. 3. More opportunities to upsell CRMs can help your firm identify additional advisory and financial management services that your existing clients could benefit from. For example, wealth and asset managers who operate as part of a larger financial institution like a bank, a CRM can make it easier to connect wealth management clients with banking services and vice versa. Most CRMs can meet compliance requirements and can have both banking and wealth clients in the same system, which drives seamless handoff and increases lead referrals for growth. 4. Increased retention Because you’ll know your clients better, you’ll be less likely to lose them. The more personalized, tailored experience you can deliver with a CRM boosts client retention as well as growth, helping limit churn. If a client shows indicators of interest in crypto , for example, you’ll be able to identify that, so you could offer them the opportunity to invest through your firm rather than lose them to a trading app. 5. Reduced infrastructure burden Wealth managers should focus on financial advising and asset management, not technology management. Fortunately, many CRMs are cloud-based. In practical terms, this means you won’t need to invest in servers or additional in-house IT support. Partnering with an advisor can also help accelerate implementation, drive user adoption and ensure you stay on top of any ongoing changes or developments with the technology itself. How should wealth and asset management leaders implement a CRM-powered growth strategy? CEOs and CFOs at wealth and asset management firms should think about technology solutions like CRMs from an ROI perspective. This sort of tech isn’t a cost center, but an investment designed to deliver growth by making your entire team more effective at serving the needs of your clients and potential clients. However, the key to generating this ROI isn’t just having a CRM, but using it correctly. Here, you’ll benefit from working with an outside advisor to develop and implement a digital strategy focused on your firm’s growth goals. Your advisor can help you identify gaps in your current systems, create a roadmap to upgrade your growth tech, find the most effective tech solutions and help your team integrate those solutions with your existing data sources to give you full visibility on all your clients and prospects. Look for an advisory firm that combines deep technical experience with a specific understanding of the financial services industry and the unique requirements for that space. Learn more about the state of the wealth and asset management industries Where is wealth and asset management headed in 2026? Wipfli interviewed 124 wealth management executives and 125 asset management executives to learn how firms are tackling challenges like growth, AI and cybersecurity. Read the full reports: Wealth management industry report Asset management industry report Read more Is it time for wealth management to responsibly add crypto? Why FP&A is essential for RIAs in a changing industry Navigating the tax complexities of M&A in wealth and asset management
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