Practice Management Pulse 2026
Curated trends, insights, and actions
Our Practice Management Pulse delivers timely, research-backed insights and practical actions to help today’s advisors stay ahead.
Modern advice requires more than investment experience
Grounded in research, real experiences, and expertise from T. Rowe Price—explore key industry trends, why they matter, and what you can do to prepare for the road ahead. Subscribe to Practice Management for timely insights and our latest programs.
Five forces reshaping advice today
Advisors today are navigating a landscape transformed by new expectations in business management, client acquisition, and client engagement. Technology is accelerating, client emotions are shifting, and digital behaviors are reshaping where trust is built. These trends highlight where advisor behavior is evolving and offer practical steps to turn change into an advantage.
Stand out as others step back
Advisor attrition creates new opportunities for those willing to flex. What must practices do to scale, adapt, and differentiate?
The financial advice industry is facing a significant shortfall just as demand continues to grow. Standing out today means sharpening your marketing, expanding capacity through technology, and redefining what a “team” looks like. Advisors who embrace adaptability as a core skill will be best positioned to serve more clients while delivering a higher‑touch experience. In a landscape where others are stepping back, the ones who lean in strategically will capture the opportunity ahead.
Modern Teaming
Contact us
Clients expect AI-savvy advisors. But fear not.
The benefits of AI are hard to ignore. But where are most advisors when it comes to AI usage and proficiency?
Most advisors are still in the early innings, experimenting with the same basic tools you are, and clients mainly want reassurance that you’re thinking ahead on their behalf. A few targeted steps like using AI for routine tasks and learning through real business needs can boost confidence quickly. The real win isn’t mastering every tool; it’s signaling sophistication, freeing up time, and elevating the value clients experience.
What’s your AIQ?
Protect your practice by recognizing AI cybersecurity threats
Guiding inheritors through moments of mourning
Wealth transfer is rarely simple—financially or emotionally—and advisors can be the steady guide families need.
Inheriting wealth often arrives wrapped in grief, overwhelm, and logistical burden. Many inheritors experience more stress than windfall as they navigate all the accompanying administrative tasks. A calm, prepared advisor can make all the difference—guiding families with clarity, compassion, and small, meaningful steps like suggesting charitable gestures that honor a loved one’s legacy. In moments this emotional, you’re not just managing money you’re helping people find their footing.
Build enduring relationships by helping during emotional times
Help your practice thrive with our latest insights
In an ever-changing landscape, keep up with keys to practice management success.
Your next big growth channel might be a social feed
Your next generation of prospects is scrolling, searching, and forming opinions online. They’re looking for financial voices they can actually trust amid the noise.
More investors, especially younger ones, are turning to platforms like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube for financial guidance. Many are eager for credible advice but often end up sifting through noise, half‑truths, or influencers with shaky expertise. That gap creates a major opening for advisors who show up with clear, concrete, and trustworthy content.
From Prospect to Partner
Trust-building tech: Using AI the right way
AI can streamline your practice, but when it comes to client trust, how you use it matters just as much as what it can do.
Automate processes, not relationships. AI can supercharge efficiency, but relying on it too heavily, especially for personal communications, can quietly erode hard-earned trust advisors. Research shows that clients value transparency and authenticity, and they respond poorly when messages feel overly polished, impersonal, or machine‑generated. The goal isn’t to avoid AI, but to use it intentionally. By blending tech with emotional intelligence, advisors can preserve the human touch that clients rely on while still benefiting from the scale and speed AI provides.
How to blend AI with emotional intelligence to enhance client relationships
Set your practice apart
Explore more ways to refine and grow your practice with client acquisition, client engagement, and business management resources.
Contact us
1 McKinsey & Company. “The Looming Advisor Shortage in US Wealth Management,” February 2025.
2 Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), MDRT Study: Half of All Advisors’ Clients Think Their Advisor Is Already Using AI, 2025.
3 Gartner, Gartner’s 2026 U.S. Consumer and Cultural Top Trends. GARTNER is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and its affiliates.
4 Credit Karma, “Gen Z feels burned after taking financial advice from social media,” February 18, 2025..
5 Pew Research Center, Survey of U.S. adults, 2025.
Please consult with your firm's compliance department to confirm which AI tools and social media platforms are permitted for use in accordance with your organization's policies and guidelines.
202603–5257166