Halfway Through 2025 — Here’s What’s Changing in Wealth Management

Four insights shaping how advice is delivered, scaled and humanised

We’re halfway through 2025, and the conversations we’re having across the wealth management and financial planning industry aren’t just about investment strategies anymore. They’re about access, experience, personalisation, and smart automation. 

In this blog, we’ve rounded up a few trends we’re seeing in wealth management so far this year. From how firms are reducing costs to better serve a broader audience, to the growing power of women investors. 

Lowering costs for greater accessibility 

It’s no secret that technology is helping firms cut costs but it’s also making financial advice more widely available. Gone are the days when professional advice was reserved for the ultra-wealthy. 

According to Investopedia, digital platforms and automated tools are helping to reduce client costs across the board; think zero-commission trading and streamlined advice journeys. Meanwhile, EY’s recent innovation report highlights how scalable tech and open APIs are enabling wealth firms to do more, for more people, with less overheads. Buiding on this, PwC’s insights on zero-based budgeting suggest that many firms are increasingly embracing zero-based budgeting (ZBB), a strategy that treats all expenses as subject to justification regardless of prior budgets. Rather than simply trimming costs, ZBB challenges firms to rethink what activities drive value. This often results in redirecting resources toward technology that delivers measurable impact, especially in areas like customer acquisition, compliance automation, and personalised digital experiences. As PwC notes, “ZBB enables reinvestment in strategic priorities and digital transformation”, not just cost reduction for its own sake. 

At Kidbrooke, we’ve seen firsthand how our clients are using KidbrookeONE to achieve just that. Whether it’s powering digital advice journeys or embedding analytics into onboarding flows, our platform helps deliver relevant insights at a fraction of the traditional cost, without compromising on depth or compliance. It’s about offering the same high-quality service, but in a way that’s smarter, leaner, and built for scale. 

The Adviser’s Role Is More Human, Not Less 

As AI becomes more integrated in finance, some people worry that the human touch might disappear. But what we’re seeing is actually the opposite. 

Technology is no longer just about replacing tasks, it’s about enhancing relationships. According to The Australian Financial Review, the future of financial advice lies in blending digital capabilities with distinctly human skills like empathy, communication, and emotional intelligence. Clients still want someone to listen, guide, and understand their life goals, they just don’t want the friction and delays that used to come with it. 

Meanwhile, Investopedia highlights that AI and automation are transforming the back office by eliminating time-consuming admin. From data aggregation and risk profiling to compliance checks and documentation, tech is freeing up advisers to focus on what really matters: deepening client trust and tailoring advice to life events, not just portfolios. 

This is exactly the philosophy behind KidbrookeONE which is designed to work in the background, not overshadow the adviser. It supports smart decision-making, generates personalised recommendations, and even powers solutions like Kate, our GenAI assistant. But it’s all in service of one thing: giving advisers the tools to be more human. Less paperwork, more conversations that matter. 

If you're curious how this works in practice, our blog on seamless adviser workflows breaks it down. 

Women Investors Are a Force to Reckon With 

This next trend is impossible to ignore: the rise of the women investor! 

According to Forbes, women now control close to $60 trillion in global financial assets, a figure that’s only expected to grow. But here’s the critical insight: women investors are more likely to switch providers if they feel underserved or spoken down to. The article also notes that while women are increasingly financially confident, many still feel their needs and preferences are overlooked by traditional wealth firms. The result? A loyalty gap. If firms don’t personalise their approach, women will simply take their business elsewhere. 

EY’s latest research echoes this sentiment. Women are not just looking for returns, they’re looking for relationships, relevance and planning support. Estate planning, retirement goals and values-based investing rank high on their agenda, and they want advisers who take the time to understand these priorities from day one. 

So what’s the message here? Personalisation matters. Relevance matters. And knowing your audience matters more than ever. 

With KidbrookeONE, wealth firms can better understand each client’s priorities right from the start. Whether that’s flagging retirement goals during onboarding, tailoring investment insights to life events, or using Kate to suggest content that resonates, it’s about making sure every client feels seen and supported. 

Digital Onboarding That Works (and Looks Like You) 

Let’s be honest onboarding is often the first real test of a client’s experience with your brand, and in 2025 there’s no room for clunky forms or disjointed communication. 

The Funds Society’s list of top 2025 trends highlights the rise of digital, white-labelled onboarding. A great onboarding experience is more than just completing forms quickly, it sets the tone for the entire client relationship.  

As FinTech Global highlights, the perfect investor onboarding journey is clean, personalised, and frictionless. It offers fast, accurate profiling, proactive guidance, and reassurance about data security. That initial friction matters: a smooth, intuitive process builds trust and confidence, fosters long-term engagement, and helps firms stay compliant 

At Kidbooke, our platform allows firms to plug personalised analytics right into the onboarding journey. That means clients aren’t just sharing data, they’re getting value from it immediately. With Kate guiding them through the process and intuitive flows built to reflect your brand, onboarding becomes a point of differentiation, not a headache. 

If you want to see how firms are already transforming their onboarding with our tech, check out our blog on digitally powered onboarding. 

Four Trends, One Common Thread 

These four trends; lower costs, human-first advice, women-led growth, and smarter onboarding, may seem separate but they all point to delivering personal, meaningful experiences at scale.  

KidbrookeONE help wealth managers and financial institutions: 

• Build journeys that adapt to individual needs 

• Free up adviser time for deeper conversations 

• Connect with under-served (and high-potential) segments 

• Make onboarding a strength, not a stumbling block 

Whether you're exploring GenAI with Kate, simplifying data flows with KidbrookeONE APIs, or bringing personalised analytics into early-stage engagement, we're here to help you build advice journeys that feel both human and modern.