Advice has always been a judgment business. But as client needs grow more complex and data volumes continue to expand, the real constraint in wealth management is no longer access to information — it’s the ability to apply consistent, high-quality judgment at scale. More data does not automatically lead to better decisions; in fact, it often results in overload, inconsistency, and missed opportunities. Decision Intelligence (DI) addresses this gap. By combining AI with behavioral context and business strategy, it transforms raw insight into actionable guidance — industrializing good judgment across thousands of advisors and millions of client decisions, while keeping humans firmly in control.
Some of the most effective advisors leverage DI to turn insight into action, identifying opportunities across managed and non-managed assets, planning events, and money movement—making scale an advantage rather than a constraint. Continuous monitoring of accounts, plans, and client behaviors surfaces the moments that matter, without forcing advisors to sift through reports or dashboards. The result is more consistent, prioritized guidance, better decision-making at scale, and stronger, trust-based client relationships.
What will separate top advisors in 2026
The constraint in wealth management has shifted from data scarcity to judgment scarcity. AI won't replace advisors — but advisors with AI will replace advisors without it. Advisors utilizing this technology will not try to act on every AI-driven insight at once. Instead, they will decision intelligence to:
- Prioritize outreach across large books
- Standardize high-impact conversations
- Ensure important opportunities do not get missed
AI excels at identifying patterns, risks, and opportunities across scale. Advisors excel at judgment, context, and trust. In 2026, some of the most successful advisors will combine both—using AI to surface the right moments, and human expertise to turn those moments into meaningful outcomes for clients and sustainable growth for their practice.
Below are the AI-driven insights we see financial advisors relying on most as they prepare for 2026.
Action on investment and account-level insights
Identify underperforming products in non-managed accounts
Many advisors oversee a mix of managed portfolios and legacy or held-away assets. AI flags non-managed accounts holding underperforming products relative to peers.
Decision intelligence translates this signal into a clear next step, creating a natural entry point for conversations around modernization, risk alignment, or transitioning assets into managed solutions—while reinforcing the advisor’s role as a holistic steward of the client’s full balance sheet.
Address cash concentration outside of managed portfolios
Cash often accumulates in non-managed accounts without a clear strategy. AI surfaces clients with elevated cash concentrations that exceed meaningful thresholds.
Decision intelligence prioritizes which situations warrant action, ultimately supporting goal-based reinvestment discussions and opens opportunities to bring assets into advice-driven strategies aligned with firm models.
Highlight high fee products in non-managed accounts
High-cost products frequently persist in non-managed accounts due to inertia. AI identifies when clients hold significant balances in high-fee investments.
DI helps advisors move from awareness to action, enabling advisors to proactively discuss cost efficiency, portfolio alignment, and potential transitions—often without tax complexity—while demonstrating fiduciary awareness within the firm’s framework.
Monitor single stock and sector concentration risk
AI flags non-managed accounts with concentrated exposure to a single stock or sector. These risks are easy to overlook but can materially impact client outcomes.
With decision intelligence guiding prioritization, this insight supports risk management conversations, diversification strategies, and the introduction of managed or advisory solutions that better align with firm standards.
Detect significant client inflows and outflows
Large inflows and withdrawals provide important context about client behavior and intent. AI surfaces both events so advisors can respond appropriately.
With decision intelligence prioritizing these events in real time, advisors can act early. Engaging clients around liquidity events or readiness for deeper planning, while outflows may signal spending needs, reallocations, or emerging dissatisfaction. In both cases, early awareness improves engagement quality.
Identify accounts and portfolios at a loss
AI highlights managed and non-managed accounts currently at a loss, creating opportunities for tax-aware strategies, repositioning, or expectation setting.
DI helps advisors act consistently on this insight, supporting consistent portfolio reviews and align client communication with market conditions.
Provide disciplined advice through tax and contribution insights
Scale tax loss harvesting opportunities
Tax loss harvesting remains a core value-add for advisors. AI identifies taxable accounts with material unrealized losses that represent a meaningful portion of account value.
Decision intelligence operationalizes this signal into a repeatable action, enabling advisors to act systematically across their book, reinforcing tax-aware advice as a standard part of the client experience rather than an ad hoc benefit.
Identify missed IRA contribution opportunities
When clients contributed to an IRA last year but not in the current year, AI flags the gap while there is still time to act.
By prioritizing timely intervention, DI allows for proactive outreach and reinforces saving discipline, particularly for mass affluent and emerging wealth segments.
Monitor prolonged contribution inactivity
AI identifies clients who have not contributed to accounts in over 12 months, excluding those with recurring withdrawals.
DI helps advisors segment and prioritize these situations, guiding clients who may be disengaged or off-track and prioritize reactivation conversations.
Create deeper engagement with planning and life event insights
Decision intelligence connects life event signals to timely, advisor-led actions—ensuring critical planning conversations happen when they matter most.
Retirement transitions occurring this year
AI flags clients who have indicated they are retiring in the current year and have meaningful assets associated with their plan.
By elevating these clients for immediate attention, decision intelligence allows advisors to prioritize income planning, Social Security strategies, and distribution sequencing—ensuring critical conversations happen before decisions are locked in.
Consolidate multiple 401k accounts
Clients with multiple employer retirement plans are prime candidates for consolidation. AI identifies rollover opportunities tied to meaningful balances.
Decision intelligence translates this insight into focused outreach, supporting asset consolidation, improved oversight, and deeper wallet share within firm guidelines.
Medicare readiness and healthcare planning
AI surfaces clients approaching Medicare enrollment with assets tied to their financial plan.
By surfacing this moment proactively, DI creates an opportunity for timely guidance during a complex decision period, strengthening trust and positioning the advisor as a long-term partner beyond investments.
Surface high interest personal real estate loans
AI identifies clients carrying real estate loans with elevated interest rates and meaningful balances.
Decision intelligence helps prioritize these opportunities for action, supporting refinancing discussions, debt strategy reviews, and asset-liability alignment—often delivering immediate, tangible benefits.
Flag financial plans needing updates
Plans that have not been updated in two or more years can quickly become outdated. AI flags these situations so advisors can prioritize refresh conversations.
Embedded into the advisor workflow, decision intelligence helps to ensure plan updates happen proactively and consistently, supporting planning consistency, compliance expectations, and stronger client outcomes.
How advisors are using Envestnet’s Decision Intelligence solutions
Artificial intelligence is reshaping wealth management by industrializing good judgement across thousands of advisors and millions of client decisions, while keeping humans in control, fundamentally transforming how firms operationalize data at scale.
Together, these capabilities illustrate how enterprise firms in 2026 are operationalizing AI-driven decision intelligence to standardize insight-led actions to drive consistency, improve advisor productivity, and deliver more personalized outcomes without adding operational or technology complexity.
Explore Envestnet’s Data Solutions and start powering Decision Intelligence insights for your firm.
