Contents
The views and data on this page should not be taken as a recommendation or advice. Testimonials are from genuine financial advisers and investors who have given permission for their comments to be used. Names have been removed to protect privacy.
Financial advice is evolving in response to an age of abundant information. As investors gain access to more tools, data and digital channels, the value of advice is shifting from access to information towards helping people make sense of it.
Advice is becoming more about interpretation than information
We live in a world where information has never been more accessible, immediate and ever-changing. Investors now have tools, portals and apps in their pockets. News and opinion – often conflicting or unsubstantiated – land 24/7.
Against this backdrop, there is already an evident shift in how investors engage with information. Around three-quarters (74%) of investors are using, or considering using, AI tools in their investment process, with 37% already doing so. Yet AI remains part of a broader mix rather than a dominant resource – only 6% cite it as their primary source of information.
These findings suggest investors are exploring AI but not relying on it. Even among non-advised investors using AI, only 6% believe it removes the need for professional advice.
Only 6% of non-advised investors using AI feel it negates the need for human professional advice
At the same time, many people – particularly those without advice – are turning to non-traditional channels. While 14% of all investors say they get the majority of their advice from social media or ‘finfluencers’, this proportion rises to 23% for less wealthy, non-advised investors. Such channels can provide an important introduction to investing, particularly for younger audiences. However, they can also amplify misinformation, encourage short-term thinking and heighten the risks around decisions driven by the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO).
More information does not mean less need for advice
The growth of AI and digital information sources is not having a uniform effect on investors. While over half say it doesn’t change how they feel about advice, opinion among the remainder is split. Around one in six investors say access to AI makes them feel they need less advice, while another one in six say using AI makes them feel they need more advice.
Abundant information is asymmetric in its impact. Some investors feel empowered by greater access to information; others feel overwhelmed by it. The challenge is no longer finding information but understanding what matters, filtering out noise and translating information into confident decisions.
This is particularly important during periods of uncertainty, when markets are volatile and information flows intensify. In those moments, advice provides something technology alone struggles to replicate: context, perspective and behavioural support.
Advisers are using AI to focus on higher-value work
The same technologies reshaping investor behaviour are also changing how advice is delivered. Roughly three-quarters of advisers report using AI-enabled tools within their advice process, primarily to support administrative and operational tasks such as meeting notes, transcriptions and drafting client communications.
Rather than replacing advisers, AI is freeing up their time. And that time is being redirected towards client relationships, behavioural coaching and decision support. But advisers aren’t naïve. When asked about the risks they associate with AI for investing and financial advice, 61% identified over-reliance on AI at the expense of human judgement as the biggest risk.
Many of the risks advisers highlight stem from situations where nuance, context and individual circumstances matter most. Consistent with this, only 16% of investors are comfortable with fully automated investing through AI, while 13% do not want AI involved at all and would prefer advice to be delivered entirely by a human adviser.
Ultimately, faith in human advice remains strong. Among advised clients, 96% say ongoing human advice is important to them, providing compelling evidence of its enduring value according to the people best placed to know.
The hybrid future
A powerful dynamic emerges, where digital tools increasingly engage and empower younger investors, while also exaggerating noise, overconfidence and behavioural biases on the other.
As these investors age, their needs will evolve. They too will face the fragile decade one day – when their risk tolerance may fall, and their demand for certainty may rise. In such an environment, the role of advice becomes more crucial.
Advisers today are increasingly embracing AI’s support to tackle the lower-value, repeatable tasks. This alleviates time pressure, allowing them to focus on what matters most – judgement, market context and the behavioural coaching skills that help clients to stay the course through volatile times.
Things to consider for your client conversations
Ross Liston
Chief Executive Officer, Advice, M&G Life
How advisers manage behaviour in times of abundant information and ongoing volatility
AI is becoming part of how clients engage with investing.
Insights from the Compass research confirm many are already using it to make sense of decisions, but few treat it as a substitute for financial advice. Access to information is no longer a barrier, interpretation is. Clients now arrive having formed views, sometimes with confidence that doesn’t hold up in conversation. That changes the dynamic.
Across the industry, advisers are adapting. AI is improving efficiency and freeing up time for conversations and decisions. But the risks are familiar: over-reliance, outputs that are hard to explain and recommendations that don’t quite fit the individual.
These become more visible in volatile markets, when decisions are shaped as much by emotion as information. AI can help sort data and highlight options. But it doesn’t know the client, and it doesn’t carry the consequences of the decisions made.
As AI becomes part of the advice process – rather than an alternative solution – it will strengthen the role advisers play in coaching and guiding clients through volatile times. Let’s redefine financial advice not as a transaction, but as a human-centred experience that builds confidence for generations to come.
Methodology
We surveyed 500 men and women from across the UK, aged 18 and over, who actively keep track of their investments, representing both advised and non-advised investors. They are grouped into three categories: advised investors with more than £100,000; non-advised investors with more than £100,000 (described as 'affluent')'; and non-advised investors with less than £100,000 invested (described as 'non-affluent')'. Censuswide carried out the research between 6 and 12 February 2026.
In addition, we surveyed 150 UK-based financial advisers. Research in Finance carried out this survey between 17 and 20 February 2026.
We also carried out in-depth qualitative interviews with four advisers and four investors to help articulate the survey findings. The Agency Partnership conducted these interviews on behalf of M&G between 25 and 27 February 2026. Percentage numbers have been rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.
Also in this issue
Download the full report
In the first edition we set out to understand how investors and advisers are experiencing uncertainty, how decisions are shaped in those moments and what helps clients stay confident in their choices.
