In 2026, the Human Touch Will Be the Differentiator for Advisers

A financial adviser shows a client something on a laptop screen during an office meeting.

The 2020s have been a transformative time for advisers. After the COVID-19 pandemic, recent years introduced an unprecedented explosion of new products, platforms, changing demographics and rising expectations from time-constrained, tech-savvy clients.

Despite these transformations, the core of successful financial advising remains unchanged: the human touch.

In my daily interactions with advisers, the overwhelming viewpoint is: In 2026 and beyond, advisers must harness the power of technology to enhance the personal, authentic connections that are the cornerstone of their role.

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Advising — it runs in the family

As shown by our research, the financial advisory industry is no longer simply managing investments; it provides comprehensive financial guidance and support.

However, who receives that support and what they expect from their adviser is changing rapidly.

About Adviser Intel

The author of this article is a participant in Kiplinger's Adviser Intel program, a curated network of trusted financial professionals who share expert insights on wealth building and preservation. Contributors, including fiduciary financial planners, wealth managers, CEOs and attorneys, provide actionable advice about retirement planning, estate planning, tax strategies and more. Experts are invited to contribute and do not pay to be included, so you can trust their advice is honest and valuable.

We're in the beginning stages of the biggest wealth transfer ever. This means new clients who differ widely from their parents and spouses in terms of risk tolerance and communication preferences.

Inheritors might not settle for simply working with their spouses' or parents' advisers. They might look elsewhere to assess their options, and a key differentiator is empathy.

This is a significant opportunity for advisers. They must:

Adapt their human touch to better serve a younger and more diverse clientele
Develop skills to understand and address the unique financial needs and concerns of these clients, ensuring that they feel supported and heard

We're already seeing advisers adjust their practices to account for future transitions through family-based planning. Engaging with an entire family to workshop solutions ensures all members approve of the financial strategy, building trust and fostering long-term relationships.

The most successful advisers in 2026 will be those who prioritize coaching and planning with families over transactional services to counteract the increasing complexity of clients' financial lives and the need for personalized, holistic advice.

Humans lead, and technology must follow

Technology remains a fundamental enabler of success for advisers, and the pace of change is accelerating. Great advisers use sophisticated tools to manage portfolios, account transitions and tax-loss harvesting.

As advisers have updated their practices to account for increased demand for personalized counsel, technology will evolve alongside them.

Generative AI is a prime example. Advisers can use generative AI to take notes and recap calls, allowing them to worry less about capturing next steps and instead focus on building rapport with clients.

They can also use generative AI to summarize market trends and advice quickly based on the acumen level of clients and how they like to receive information. In both cases, advancements in technology help advisers focus on the human side of advising.

Extreme investment product proliferation has led to an overwhelming number of options for advisers and their clients, and has indirectly influenced the subsequent rise of separately managed accounts (SMAs).

While SMAs allow clients to receive tailored solutions, it complicates an adviser's bird's-eye view of their entire portfolios.

As more funds become available and clients increasingly expect personalized and flexible support, advisers should leverage AI to examine which will be true value-adds.

For example, advisers should analyze what they're purchasing to confirm products are "true to label" and without "hidden" drawbacks, such as having a high expense ratio relative to the peer group average.

Though all investing is subject to risk, this extra analysis can help advisers feel confident they're giving their clients the best chance for investment success.

Advisers can also leverage tools and support from such asset managers as Vanguard to oversee ongoing portfolio management. Asset managers can help advisers achieve scalability with portfolio construction tools that can run on-demand diagnostics of portfolio risk and return drivers to create custom reports and action plans for clients.

By using AI and other tools to weed through new offerings and develop scalable solutions, advisers can more quickly make decisions, allowing them to spend more time on strategic planning, relationship management and prospecting, and less on administrative tasks.

The talent shortage is a 'right now' problem

McKinsey estimates that, by 2034, the financial services industry will face a shortage of about 100,000 advisers. As with the generational wealth transfer, this is a "right now" situation.

To account for and address shortages, firms, banks and home offices alike must rethink their practice management — both from a talent and a tool standpoint.

For example, we work with advisers who are experimenting with teaming to maximize resources and embrace efficiencies, while other advisers lean on diversified, managed model portfolios to free up time to take on new clients.

To attract and retain top talent, institutions must provide autonomy to advisers where possible. In this era of rapid innovation, it will be important to offer the freedom to choose from a broader universe of products.

Scalable, portfolio-based solutions can help advisers make their role more manageable and appealing.

Institutions can also offer training programs that focus on both technical skills and soft skills, such as communication and empathy, to help advisers connect with new prospects and existing clients.

The reality is that, even in the face of a talent shortage, expectations and demand aren't slowing down. The good news is that neither will the evolution of technology. By leaning into technology to streamline tasks and evolving practice management, advisers can stay ahead.

Conclusion

Next year will be defined by the seamless integration of innovative technology and the irreplaceable human touch.

By leveraging new technology to better provide coaching and planning and address the talent shortage, advisers can thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Disclaimer

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

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Janel Jackson is a principal and head of the Bank and Institutional channel in Vanguard Financial Advisor Services™, which provides investments, services, education and research to banks, asset management firms and insurance companies. Prior to this role, Ms. Jackson was global head of ETF Capital Markets and Broker & Index Relations at Vanguard, where she worked to ensure the quality and performance of Vanguard ETFs and provided strategic relationship management of broker-dealers for the investments division and corporate-wide relationship management of Vanguard's index providers.