India’s wealth management industry is expanding rapidly, but firms face a growing shortage of experienced relationship managers. Against this backdrop, technology is becoming an important enabler of scale, helping wealth managers serve more clients efficiently while maintaining service quality.
At the Hubbis India Wealth Management Forum 2026 in Mumbai, Akash Anand, Managing Director for the Middle East, Africa and India region at Avaloq, discussed the platform capabilities firms need to support future growth. He highlighted the importance of modern, integrated systems, strong security foundations, and the role of AI in helping relationship managers become more productive.
Key Takeaways
Three Pillars, One Layer Above: Anand framed a strong wealth platform as resting on growth, efficiency and speed, with security sitting across all three.
Security Belongs in the Design, Not an Afterthought: He cautioned that data and cyber security are too often forgotten in platform discussions despite being of paramount importance.
Integration Is a Technical Requirement: In his view, systems must be API driven and SaaS friendly in order to work alongside the niche fintech providers now serving specific parts of the market.
AI Should Augment, Not Replace: Anand explained that the value of AI in wealth management lies in amplifying relationship manager productivity.
Everything Depends on Core Data: He argued that AI tools sit as layers above the data, and that weak underlying data will simply produce mismatches at scale.
What a Strong Platform Is Built On
Asked what the cost of standing still might be for firms that do not modernise, Anand answered by describing what a modern platform should look like in the first place.
“A strong wealth management platform should be running on three strong pillars, which is growth, efficiency, and speed,” he said.
He then added a qualifier. “The layer on top is security. Data security and cyber security are of paramount importance when it comes to the wealth management business.”
Rather than treating security as a fourth pillar, or as a compliance obligation sitting to one side, Anand positioned it as something that covers the whole structure.
The Case for Openness
Anand then turned to architecture, and specifically to the question of how a core platform coexists with the growing ecosystem of specialist providers around it.
He noted that he had met numerous fintech providers in the hours before the panel, each addressing a particular area. “Be it data analytics, front office for a family office, or a Web 3 solution provider: these solutions are highly specialised for specific use cases.”
That specialisation creates an obligation for the core system. “Your system has to be API driven to integrate with these fintech providers, and at the same time, these technologies have to be SaaS friendly.”
In his view, no single platform will cover every emerging requirement, so the value of the core platform is partly in its ability to seamless connect with other systems.
Anand also pointed to analytics as a distinct capability, describing the “ability to analyze the data along with the use of AI smartly” as a further requirement of a modern system.
As for Avaloq, it has served the industry for four decades and has continuously invested a share of revenue into research and development for wealth and private banking over that period.
Bringing the Data Together
The discussion then turned to fragmentation. Like others in the session, Anand described the dispersal of data across systems as the defining obstacle to any digital transformation project.
“Because the industry has evolved over years with many fragmented systems trying to address specific pain points, the bigger challenge for analytics or a digital transformation is how do I bring all the data together?”
The consequence is felt at the client level. “How do I give you a 360-degree view of a customer? That becomes a challenge.”
Anand said Avaloq had recognised this comparatively early and had responded by building what he described as a front-to-back platform, spanning the digital and mobile layer, the ability to integrate with analytics tools or Web3 offerings, and the middle and back office, covering the life cycle of practically all asset classes currently available. With most solutions in the market addressing specific use cases, it often leaves the person responsible for analytics or digital transformation with the task of assembling the whole.
Where AI Actually Helps
“AI is not here to replace us,” he said. “It has to augment the RM’s productivity, amplify the productivity of an RM, and that’s where a trusted technology provider can help you.”
He connected this directly to a demographic pressure specific to the Indian market. “When you look at the clear growth of the mass affluent segment in India, the available talent pool of relationship managers becomes a challenge for many firms.”
That gap between client growth and adviser supply is, in his view, where AI earns its place. He gave automation of client onboarding as an example of a “specific area which will eliminate the routine tasks of an RM,” freeing advisers to spend their time on building longer-term client relationships. He also pointed to data reconciliation, which he described as repetitive by nature and therefore well suited to the technology, and to certain back-office functions including order processing.
The framing throughout was one of reallocated time rather than reduced headcount. “The activity levels of the RMs are changing with the use of AI,” he said, and the aim is that “the RM gets more time to serve clients and build long term relationships.”
No Substitute for Good Data
“All these tools are the layers which can only amplify the RM’s productivity if your data is robust,” he said. “If your data itself is not robust, then it will all create a mismatch, and you will not be able to serve clients better or at scale.”
Another participant observed that strong analytics will only magnify whatever errors exist in the underlying data. A capable tool applied to poor data does not neutralise the problem: it distributes it more widely.
Enablers, Not Replacements
The winning configuration, according to Anand, keeps advisers at the centre while the technology extends their reach. “While advisors are going to do their job to serve their clients well, at the same time, some of these technology tools are going to be acting as an enabler to amplify RM productivity.”
If an adviser can currently serve 30 or 40 clients, the question is whether the right tools allow them to serve more without diluting quality.