Getting the right talent is everything.

If you run a wealth management firm or a wealthtech company, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Finding people who fit your culture. Who can execute. Who see the vision and carry it forward. People who help you build something far greater than yourself.

It's some of the hardest work there is. We're all spinning a lot of plates right now.

But here's the thing—there's a new war for talent happening, and this battle is more within than without.

Things are moving simply too fast.

The real differentiator isn't who you can poach from a competitor. That game's been going on for as long as there have been RIAs. Musical chairs. It never stops.

That's not the war I'm talking about.

The new war for talent is about AI adoption. The day-to-day practice of thinking about your work differently. Transforming how things get done at an exponential pace.

This is what's going to separate firms going forward.

If you're not leaning in as a leader right now, you're missing what I believe to be one of the most meaningful waves of change to sweep our industry. A real chance to do better for our clients. To build better products and solutions. To go deeper in the detail and help we can provide.

This is such an interesting time.

Look at the data: 95% of wealth and asset management firms have scaled AI adoption to multiple use cases. 78% are exploring agentic AI.¹ Family offices leveraging AI to improve operations? Three times more this year than last.²

The technology is here. It's everywhere.

And yet—only 29% of firms are seeing substantial impact.¹

That's the gap. Not the technology. The adoption.

McKinsey found that AI high performers—the firms actually seeing meaningful results—are three times more likely to have senior leaders who demonstrate ownership and commitment to AI initiatives.³ Leadership here isn't just setting strategy. It's role-modeling the behavior. Getting hands-on. Being the champion.

Here's what stops me in my tracks: only 6% of employees feel very comfortable using AI in their roles.⁴

We have the tools. We don't have the adoption.

And here's the uncomfortable truth—there's no pool of talent out there that's really good at this stuff. That's not how it works. You're not going to find them waiting on the sidelines.

The talent you need is most likely the talent you already have.

Your leaders. Your team members. Getting their hands in managing data with AI. Using it to do more with what they have. Building processes and skills on top of it.

This is the new war for talent. The war is within.

Here's what the numbers say: 87% of companies worldwide already experience or anticipate a significant skills gap.⁵ IDC estimates these shortages could cost the global economy $5.5 trillion by 2026.⁶ AI-exposed roles are evolving 66% faster than other positions and command a 56% wage premium.⁷

The gap widens every day you wait.

The question isn't whether someone has a great résumé or came from the right firm. It's whether they can transcend this change. Maybe they're amazing relationally—and they always will be. But behind the scenes, you're going to need bots and agents and skills executing the deep work.

That combination is what drives value now.

I don't think you're going to hire as many people this year. I don't think you need to.

What I do think? You can make your team wholly more efficient if you embrace this. It'll save you money. You'll have a team that's far more empowered to do meaningful work.

But it requires something from you.

Question everything with your IT department. Challenge them—help me have the tooling I need. Same with compliance. It can all be accomplished.

Don't take no for an answer. Push in. Get clearer.

Your people want this. 51% of workers say enhanced training is their top priority for improving AI outcomes.⁸ And here's the kicker—36% of employees planning to resign cite inadequate training as a driving factor.⁴

Invest in your people or lose them to someone who will.

This is the new era. It's going to be an adventure. Truly exciting—and probably a little scary for your team.

But if you can understand this, adopt it in your mind, and be the champion it requires? You can transform how work happens. You can make your business far better.

Go change the way you work today.

Good luck out there.

————————————————————————————————————————

Footnotes:

¹ EY, "GenAI in Wealth & Asset Management Survey 2025" (September 2025)

² RBC and Campden Wealth, "The North America Family Office Report 2025" (October 2025)

³ McKinsey & Company, "The State of AI in 2025: Agents, Innovation, and Transformation" (November 2025)

⁴ Universum, "Talent Outlook 2025"

⁵ McKinsey, as cited in TalentGuard, "From Skills Gaps to AI-Powered Career Growth" (March 2025)

⁶ IDC Analyst Brief, "Closing the Gap: Verifying AI Skills in the Enterprise" (2025)

⁷ PwC, "2025 AI Jobs Barometer"

⁸ SHRM, "From Adoption to Empowerment: Shaping the AI-Driven Workforce of Tomorrow" (July 2025)