Paris and Boston-headquartered Natixis Investment Managers has released a new survey highlighting that financial advisors are optimistic about growth prospects despite the challenges, driven by AI. However, many also believe that AI-enhanced DIY investing tools will be their biggest competitor.    

Despite conflict in the Middle East, a global energy shock, geopolitical realignment and interest rate uncertainty, financial advisors remain optimistic about what can be achieved in the years ahead, with AI having the potential to drive markets, according to Natixis Investment Managers' 2026 Finance Advisor’s survey. However, many think that AI-enhanced DIY investing tools will also be their biggest competitor over the next five years.

The survey shows that investment professionals expect to grow assets under management by 11.9 per cent over the next year and are projecting an average annual asset growth of 12.8 per cent over the next three.

However, it won’t be easy. In order to meet these growth targets, advisors will need to contend with a range of structural challenges facing the industry from new technologies, to new competition, and aging demographics. It can be hard to tell which hurdles need to be cleared first if advisors are going to succeed.

Natixis IM surveyed 2,950 investment professionals across 23 countries, providing insight into advisors' growth strategies, their challenges, and how they are adapting their business to market fluctuations. 

As advisors prepare to cope with the current volume and velocity of change, one of the first things they need to address is retaining assets that they’ve already earned, as 74 per cent of advisors globally report that clients feel unnerved by current market uncertainty and want to hold more cash as a result, the survey reveals.

This will not be an easy job, as investor concern has been growing for some time and market narratives can lead clients to make rash decisions. As a result, 58 per cent of advisors said reacting emotionally to headlines is the number one mistake investors are making, this rises to 70 per cent in the UK. Advisors also recognize that emotions can run high on good news as well as bad. With markets hitting record highs and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) from SpaceX and Open AI, advisors caution that chasing returns and market timing (49 per cent) can be a costly mistake, as are unrealistic return expectations (50 per cent).

Opportunities, threats of AI
Of all the potential disruptions facing advisors, the survey shows that artificial intelligence could have the greatest impact on client portfolios and advisory practices. When it comes to the market, few advisors see AI-fueled growth slowing anytime soon. In fact, three in four advisors believe that the AI trade still has a long way to run and 69 per cent think that AI has the potential to drive markets for the next 20 years.

In terms of their own practices, AI usage is also ramping up. Eighty per cent think those who adopt AI will have a competitive advantage and even at this early juncture, 71 per cent of advisors said they are already implementing this new technology in their practice. Overall, 74 per cent said AI can free them up to spend more time with clients, with 61 per cent saying they are using AI to write emails, take meeting notes and send out educational materials. Many are also finding that AI can help streamline the investment decision-making process, with 56 per cent using it to summarize market commentary and economic data and 40 per cent deploying AI for portfolio and risk analysis.

There is clear potential for AI to drive efficiency and a firm appetite to match, as 48 per cent report feeling pressured by their firm to use AI. However, a majority said implementing AI into their existing workstreams has been more challenging than expected.

Even if it can enhance advisor capabilities, the increasing sophistication of AI models are posing a significant competitive threat, the survey reveals. Roughly half of Millennials and 40 per cent of Gen Xers said they prefer digital advice to traditional in-person models. Forty-seven per cent of Millennials and 41 per cent of Gen Xers are also most likely to trust algorithms when getting financial advice.

As a result, advisors predict that in five years’ time, improved DIY tools for self-directed investors will be their biggest competition (43 per cent) compared with 11 per cent who think they will be competing with other advisors.

However, only 30 per cent believe it will put them out of business. While it may be tempting to turn to an AI agent for advice, 73 per cent of advisors said investors are taking unnecessary risks in doing so. One probable concern may be the quality of the prompts that individuals enter into AI systems, and the propensity for AI to hallucinate. As such, advisors are quick to differentiate the service they provide. Overall, 82 per cent said they are focusing on personal relationships and their fiduciary responsibility when they position their value for clients compared with AI.

Christopher Rossbach, CIO at J Stern & Co, also sees AI as complementing the manager's role, making processes more efficient rather than replacing the human element. He believes that the human touch and judgment will still be needed. The benefits of AI range from automating repetitive tasks, providing data-driven advice in specific areas such as portfolio optimisation, risk management and tax analysis.

When it comes to prospecting, advisors are also starting to explore new avenues, with one-third now using social media as a way to reach a younger client base, the survey shows.

“Advisors are facing a number of disruptors as the industry contends with short-term challenges presented by an uncertain market as well as larger structural shifts as a result of AI, digital competition, aging clients and a wave of industry retirements,” Darren Pilbeam, head of UK Sales Natixis IM, said. “In the near term they will need to focus efforts on reassuring investors facing uncertainty, but to succeed in the long run the number one factor for advisors will be demonstrating the value they bring that goes beyond asset allocations.”

Natixis Investment Managers surveyed 2,950 investment professionals across 23 countries. Data was gathered between March and May 2026 by the research firm CoreData with additional analysis conducted by the Natixis Center for Investor Insights. Natixis Investment Managers Individual Investor Survey was conducted by CoreData Research in February and March 2025. The survey included 7,050 individual investors in 21 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the UK, Continental Europe and Asia.