How to Build a Future-Ready Advisory Firm in 2026
The advisory firms thriving in 2026 share something in common. It’s not luck, location, or legacy. It’s intentional adaptation.
Consumer Duty dust has settled. Client expectations have permanently shifted. AI has moved from boardroom curiosity to everyday tool. And the gap between firms that embraced these changes and those still hesitating grows wider each quarter.
The Investment Trends 2025 UK Adviser Technology & Business Report tells a compelling story: nearly half of UK financial advisers now report improved year-on-year profitability—driven largely by smarter client segmentation and sharper focus on high-value relationships. The average adviser manages 101 active clients, up from previous years, signalling a post-Consumer Duty recalibration across the sector.
But these gains aren’t evenly distributed. They’re concentrated among firms making deliberate choices about technology, process design, and which clients to serve.
What this guide covers: The common traits of UK advisory firms reporting improved profitability—integrated technology, practical AI adoption, deliberate client segmentation, and digital-first marketing. We’ll break down what’s actually working and how to apply it, whether running a solo practice or a multi-adviser firm.
This isn’t a piece about predictions. It’s a practical look at what future-ready advisory firms are doing differently—and how any practice can apply these principles.
The Honest Stocktake: Where Does Your Practice Actually Stand?
Before setting new goals, the best practice owners take an honest look backward. Not for tradition’s sake, but because candid assessment actually moves the needle.
Think about the past twelve months:
- Did new technology get properly adopted—or did legacy systems create friction?
- Did the team experiment meaningfully with AI—or did uncertainty keep everyone on the sidelines?
- Did workflows actually get streamlined—or are inefficiencies still draining energy?
- Were decisions genuinely data-driven—or still reliant on gut feel?
- Did digital marketing receive consistent investment—or stay on the “someday” list?
Most firms made meaningful progress somewhere and fell short elsewhere. That’s not failure. That’s data for a more intentional 2026.
Dynamic Planner’s Advice 2025 survey found 86% of advisers expect to grow their client base over the next year, with 72% already serving more clients than twelve months prior. Growth without clarity quickly becomes chaos. The firms pulling ahead have a clear picture of where they’re starting from.
Technology: From Dabbling to Actually Integrating
The technology conversation has matured considerably. Five years ago, debate centred on whether firms should adopt digital tools. Now it’s about which tools make a genuine difference—and how to integrate them without creating more work.
Half of UK advisers now rank seamless integration as a top priority when selecting technology. Another 41% specifically seek AI-driven enhancements for efficiency gains. The message from the front lines is clear: advisers want technology that works together, not a collection of disconnected point solutions.
“In today’s advice environment, disconnected systems are a drag on productivity.” — Lorenzo Vignati, Investment Trends
What the leading firms do differently:
They map the client journey first, then select tools. Rather than chasing shiny features, they diagram every client touchpoint and internal workflow. Where are the bottlenecks? Which handoffs create errors? What tasks consume disproportionate time? Only then do they evaluate technology against actual needs.
They prioritise clean integration over feature lists. A platform with 200 features creates zero value if it doesn’t connect to existing systems. Leading firms ruthlessly evaluate how data flows between tools, looking for platforms that eliminate re-keying rather than adding to it.
They invest in training, not just licences. Technology only works when people use it properly. Firms seeing real returns budget for implementation support, ongoing training, and the inevitable productivity dip while teams learn new systems.
AI in Practice: What’s Actually Working
Artificial intelligence has shifted from science fiction to practical tool. But adoption remains uneven—and understanding why reveals important lessons.
The numbers tell a story of rapid change. Just two years ago, 27% of advisers said they’d never adopt AI. Now only 8% hold that view. Meanwhile, the Schroders UK Financial Adviser Survey 2025 shows 48% actively implementing AI tools in their practices.
Yet there’s a contradiction. Research from Unbiased found that when asked about the biggest upcoming challenge, advisers put AI and automation first at 29%—ahead of rising costs (16%) and client acquisition (13%). They see AI as both threat and opportunity simultaneously.
Where AI Creates Real Value Today
The most practical applications focus on time-intensive administrative tasks:
Meeting documentation — AI tools transcribe client meetings, generate structured notes, update CRM fields, and create client summaries. Some firms report reducing meeting note preparation time by 75-80%.
Report generation — Suitability reports, annual reviews, and recommendation letters can be drafted in minutes rather than hours. Human review remains essential, but the starting point is dramatically better.
Compliance monitoring — Real-time checks against regulatory requirements flag potential issues before they become problems. With the FCA’s increased focus on demonstrating good outcomes, this capability has become increasingly valuable.
Client communications — From follow-up emails to newsletter content, AI helps maintain consistent communication without requiring advisers to write everything from scratch.
Research from Aveni suggests each pound invested in generative AI delivers approximately £3.70 in return for advisory firms. The gains come from increased capacity—handling more clients without additional staff—and improved margins through reduced operational costs.
What AI Cannot Replace
The firms implementing AI most successfully understand its limitations clearly. AI excels at processing data, recognising patterns, and generating draft content. It cannot replicate the emotional intelligence that defines exceptional client relationships.
As Vanguard’s analysis puts it, AI erodes the adviser’s advantage in analytical work—data gathering, number crunching, market monitoring. These tasks are now automated at scale beyond what any human could achieve. In automating them, advisers shift their value to interpretation and communication: helping clients make sense of complexity, prioritise competing goals, and stay the course during volatility.
The advisers who will thrive don’t compete against AI. They use it to free time for distinctly human work.
The Advice Gap: Challenge and Opportunity
Here’s a sobering reality check. The Lang Cat Advice Gap Report 2025 reveals that just 9% of the UK population receives professional paid financial advice—exactly the same proportion as the previous year. Despite years of discussion, the gap shows no sign of narrowing.
The demographics reveal stark patterns. The intelliflo 2025 Advice Map—drawing on 2.8 million advised client records—shows 73% of advised clients are over 50. A full 88% are over 40. Just 5% of advice-seekers are under 30.
For individual firms, these numbers represent both challenge and opportunity. The challenge: traditional advice models serve a shrinking demographic. The opportunity: reaching underserved segments profitably.
“Right now, financial advice is mostly reaching older generations, but we need to be more innovative and find ways to connect with younger people, women, and individuals across the whole country. Technology is key to making advice more affordable and accessible.” — Nick Eatock, CEO of intelliflo
Practical Responses
Firms addressing this gap typically pursue one of three strategies:
Segmented service propositions — Creating distinct service tiers with appropriate pricing, service levels, and delivery methods. Higher-value clients receive intensive personal attention; smaller clients access streamlined digital services under the same brand.
Digital-first delivery for emerging wealth — Younger clients and those with smaller portfolios often prefer digital interaction. Firms creating digital advice channels serve these clients profitably while building relationships that compound over decades.
Efficiency gains that lower minimum thresholds — Every hour saved through automation is an hour available for additional clients. Firms achieving significant efficiency improvements can profitably serve clients who were previously below minimum thresholds.
The Schroders survey noted 38% of advisers now report their average client is 65+, up from 25% the previous year. Without deliberate action to attract younger clients, many firms face declining books as their client base ages. Forward-thinking practices are solving this problem now, before it becomes a crisis.
Digital Marketing: From Afterthought to Growth Engine
The shift from referral-dependent growth to proactive digital marketing has accelerated dramatically. Firms that invested in digital presence through recent years now enjoy consistent lead flow. Those that didn’t are scrambling to catch up.
The fundamentals haven’t changed—quality content, search visibility, social proof, and consistent presence still drive results. What has changed is the sophistication expected. Generic content no longer cuts through. Prospects research extensively before making contact. The digital impression often determines whether that contact ever happens.
What works now:
Content that demonstrates expertise rather than claiming it. Instead of stating “we provide excellent service,” leading firms publish content proving their knowledge—detailed guides, thoughtful commentary, practical answers to real questions.
Local SEO for regional practices. Most clients still prefer advisers within reasonable distance. Firms optimising for local search and maintaining active Google Business Profiles consistently outperform those focused only on national visibility.
Consistent presence over sporadic campaigns. Marketing that starts and stops creates feast-or-famine lead flow. Firms with predictable growth maintain steady activity—regular content, ongoing social presence, systematic follow-up.
Video content that builds familiarity. Video lets prospects assess personality and communication style before committing to a meeting. Even simple recorded explanations help build trust with audiences who’ll never attend a webinar.
Building Business Value: Playing the Long Game
For many practice owners, the eventual sale represents a significant portion of retirement planning. Understanding what drives value—and working on those factors systematically—can substantially affect outcomes.
Recent market analysis shows EBITDA multiples for larger multi-adviser firms reaching 8.3x on average, significantly higher than the 3.5x recurring income multiples typical for smaller owner-managed practices. The gap reflects genuine differences in risk and scalability.
Buyers pay premiums for:
- Recurring revenue — Practices with 90%+ fee-based recurring revenue command higher multiples than those reliant on transactional business
- Client age diversity — Books concentrated in older demographics face natural attrition; younger client segments demonstrate longer revenue runways
- Adviser depth beyond the founder — Owner-dependent practices carry key-person risk
- Clean operations — Disorganised records or compliance concerns suppress valuations
- Demonstrated growth — Evidence of consistent client acquisition signals the model works
The most valuable practices aren’t built accidentally. They result from deliberate choices about which clients to serve, how to deliver service efficiently, and how to develop team capability beyond the founders.
How JustFA Helps Forward-Thinking Advisers Build More Valuable Businesses
The challenges outlined above—technology integration, efficiency gains, serving diverse client segments profitably, building business value—share a common thread. They all require platforms that work together seamlessly rather than creating additional complexity.
This is precisely what JustFA was built to address.
JustFA is a fully integrated all-in-one advice and investment platform that combines digital advice workflow, client engagement, custody, and investment management within a single system. Everything operates under the adviser’s own brand.
Why This Matters for Growing Firms
Solve the efficiency problem at its root. Most advisers remain capped at around 100 clients because every case drags through hours of administration. JustFA’s integrated workflow—with automated tasks, built-in compliance documentation, and seamless recommendation flows—delivers service approximately three times faster than traditional processes.
Serve different client segments profitably. The advice gap exists partly because traditional models make smaller clients unprofitable. JustFA enables firms to create digital propositions for emerging wealth clients while maintaining full-service offerings for higher-value relationships. Same brand, different delivery, appropriate economics.
Free adviser capacity for growth. When a segment of clients migrates to a more efficient digital proposition, adviser time is freed immediately. That capacity can generate new business in core client segments—or simply improve work-life balance.
Build a more valuable practice. Recurring revenue, client diversity, clean operations, scalable processes—these are exactly what buyers pay premiums for. JustFA’s infrastructure supports all of them.
What Sets JustFA Apart
- End-to-end single platform — CRM, back-office, adviser tools, and investment platform in one place
- Branded client experience — Client portal and mobile app under the adviser’s own brand
- Fully digital service — Online access to all advice and investment data, no re-keying, no paperwork
- Rapid implementation — Go live with a digital proposition in as little as four weeks
- Bulk migration tools — Onboard existing client segments without re-keying, instantly freeing resources
For advisers looking to grow their business, increase profitability, and build long-term value, integrated platforms like JustFA represent the infrastructure that makes it possible.
Practical Framework for 2026 Planning
Translating insight into action requires structure. Here’s a straightforward approach:
Run an honest year-in-review. What worked? What didn’t? What single change would have the greatest impact? Document the answers. Refer back quarterly.
Set three bold, measurable goals. Not ten. Three. Each should be specific, time-bound, owned by someone, and tracked with leading indicators.
Identify the single biggest constraint. Every business has one factor limiting growth more than any other—technology friction, workflow bottlenecks, team capacity, marketing gaps, unprofitable client segments. Focus there first. Solving the binding constraint unlocks more value than spreading effort thin.
Build accountability mechanisms. Goals without accountability become wishes. Weekly metrics reviews, monthly progress check-ins, quarterly planning sessions, external coaching or peer accountability—pick what fits and commit to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What technology investments deliver the best ROI for advisory firms?
Integrated platforms eliminating data re-keying and automating compliance documentation typically deliver strongest returns. AI tools for meeting transcription and report generation also show strong payback, with some firms reporting 75-80% time savings on administrative tasks.
How are advisory firms using AI practically?
Most practical applications focus on administrative work: meeting documentation, draft report generation, compliance checking, and client communications. The goal is freeing adviser time for relationship work, not replacing human judgement.
What drives the profitability improvements some firms report?
Smarter client segmentation—focusing resources on profitable relationships while finding efficient ways to serve others—is the primary driver. Technology adoption improving efficiency without sacrificing service quality also contributes significantly.
How can smaller firms compete with larger consolidators?
Smaller firms often win on relationship quality and personal service that larger organisations struggle to match. Technology helps level the playing field on efficiency. The key is identifying a clear niche and serving it exceptionally well.
What should firms prioritise to build business value?
Recurring revenue, client age diversity, adviser depth beyond the founder, clean operations, and demonstrated growth trajectory all contribute. The most valuable practices result from deliberate strategic choices made years before any sale.
How does JustFA help advisers address the advice gap?
JustFA enables firms to create digital propositions serving clients who would be unprofitable under traditional models. The integrated platform reduces time-per-client significantly, allowing advisers to serve more people at appropriate price points while maintaining quality.
Summary: The advisory firms winning in 2026 combine integrated technology, practical AI adoption, deliberate client segmentation, and consistent digital marketing. They focus on solving their single biggest constraint rather than spreading effort thin. And they build infrastructure—like integrated advice platforms—that compounds efficiency gains over time.
Ready to build a more efficient, profitable, and valuable practice? Discover how JustFA can help →