Released on this 2 March 2026 by fincite, the WealthTech Radar 2026 is authored by 12 executives and sector specialists. The report analyses structural shifts in cloud security, tokenisation, private markets, artificial intelligence, crypto assets and ESG regulation. Its central message is clear: “2026 will determine who leads and who follows in wealth management”.
A key focus is operational resilience. The study cites the large-scale AWS outage of 20 October 2025, which disrupted services at several UK banks, as evidence that cyber resilience has become “a systemic business risk”.
While 88% of institutions plan high investments in cybersecurity, only 41% prioritise geopolitical risks. At the same time, supervisors are moving from guidance to evidence-based examinations. From 2026 onwards, institutions must be able to demonstrate restore-within-RTO/RPO capabilities and clear exit strategies for critical cloud services.
As chief executive of firstcolo, Jerome Evans, states: “Cloud sovereignty is no longer an IT question; it’s a business strategy.”
Tokenisation and private markets move mainstream
The report highlights the growing scale of private and digital assets. European private equity fundraising reached €140.9bn in 2024, marking a cycle high despite higher interest rates.
In tokenised markets, private credit represents the largest real-world asset segment, with US$14 bn (around €13bn) outstanding in June 2025 and estimates of up to US$16bn (approximately €15bn) by August 2025. Longer-term projections see tokenised assets reaching between US$10trn and US$16.1trn (roughly €9.3trn to €15trn) by 2030.
Crypto markets also saw renewed momentum. Total market capitalisation peaked at US$4.38rtn (around €4.1trn) in October 2025. Stablecoins reached US$300bn (about €280bn) in December 2025, while crypto ETP inflows for the year amounted to US$47.2bn (approximately €44bn).
The report argues that banks must integrate custody, tokenised money and traditional securities processes to avoid disintermediation.
Succession and digital estate planning move centre stage
Beyond markets and infrastructure, the report highlights a structural advisory gap in wealth transfer. As of 2025, global wealth held by high-net-worth individuals stands at US$90.5trn (around €84trn), yet 64% of investors consider preparing for wealth transfers very important, while only 28% have been appropriately engaged by their adviser on succession topics.
Head of wealth services & distribution at Allianz Life Luxembourg, 
The report argues that digital estate planning — covering securities accounts, private-market holdings, crypto wallets and cloud-based data — is becoming a core module of modern wealth advisory. In Europe, however, there is still no harmonised EU-wide standard for digital estate administration, complicating cross-border implementation.
AI ambition versus operational reality
Artificial intelligence is identified as both an opportunity and a bottleneck. While 81% of companies view AI as the most important technology of the future, only around 25% of financial institutions have scaled AI to create a measurable competitive advantage.
Deputy chief executive of Harvest, Delphine Asseraf, summarises the position: “AI does not replace humans; it amplifies their decision-making power. ” The report also underlines the strategic importance of infrastructure. The software-only digital wealth backend market is projected to reach US$18.6bn (approximately €17.3bn) by 2030, with annual growth above 16%. Without modular, API-based and cloud-enabled systems, AI integration and personalised advisory remain constrained.
Wealth aggregation is another structural lever. API calls in open banking are expected to rise from US$137bn today to US$722bn by 2029, reinforcing the importance of consolidated, data-driven client views.
