Legacy tech – is holding finance back; nearly half of financial firms admit outdated infrastructure is stalling AI progress, with data quality and harmonization key to unlocking value.
AI and cloud – dominate investments, with 80-90% of financial services outfits making both big AI bets, especially in generative AI, and closer cloud integrations
Blockchain and crypto – gain ground, with investments surging in both as financial firms eyeing new capital market opportunities – whilst also bracing for tougher digital asset regulation.
Digital infrastructure in the financial services sector is a mess, and not fit in most cases to support progressive enterprise AI strategies. So says a new report from financial services tech (fin-tech) supplier Broadridge Financial Solutions, which has polled 500-odd “leaders” among global wealth management, capital markets, and asset management firms, and found that almost half reckon their firms are not going fast enough with infrastructure upgrades (41 percent) and are impeded by legacy technologies (46 percent).
The new report, available here, is the company’s fifth annual review of digital change tactics in the financial services industry. Generative AI is all the rage, it finds – in finance, like everywhere else. Apparently, three quarters of firms (72 percent) will make decent investments (“moderate to large”) in generative AI this year, up from 40 percent in 2024. At the same time, four in five (80 percent of) firms are making “moderate-to-large” investments in AI of whatever-sort in 2025.
Two-thirds (68 percent) think generative AI will have the “greatest impact on employee productivity” and a third (35 percent; considerably less) expect to see a return (ROI) on their investments / deployments “within six months”. Overall, firms expect to allocate 29 percent of their total IT spend to “technology innovation” over the next two years, up seven percentage points from last year’s study. And cloud is still king – 86 percent are “integrating it into their processes”, and 84 percent are making “moderate-to-large” investments in cloud technologies this year.
Otherwise, three-quarters (71 percent) of finance firms are making “major investments” in distributed ledger technology (DLT) like blockchain, up from 59 percent in 2024, and two thirds (64 percent) are making “big investments” in cryptocurrency, from 51 percent in 2024. Almost half (47 percent) think DLT is enabling “new opportunities in the capital markets ecosystem”. Three quarters (73 percent) expect greater regulation and governance around digital assets going forward.
Equally, almost three-in-five (58 percent) of firms say “data harmonization” is the clearest path (“ideal driver”) to accelerate and maximize ROI on AI-style initiatives. Two in five (40 percent) admit to “data quality issues”; the rest say their data is clean and accessible. But Broadridge warns, as a pitch for business: “Today, when the introduction of a new AI model has the power to send shockwaves through financial markets, Bitcoin ETFs are routinely turning over billions in average daily volume, and cybersecurity has become a global mandate, financial services firms can no longer afford half-measures or indecision when it comes to data harmonization or addressing legacy technology.”
Chris Perry, president at Broadridge, commented: “As financial services firms modernize their operations and move away from legacy systems, many are realizing that the right data management strategy has the power to break down silos and achieve the level of data quality needed to realize the potential of AI and sustain prolonged digital transformation within their organizations. With the right data strategy and a clear plan to address legacy tech, firms can drive digital transformation, enable innovation at scale, enhance customer experiences, and foster long-term growth while providing operational resilience and efficiency.”
Jason Birmingham, global head of engineering at Broadridge, said: “It’s really all about straight-through processes and the ability to see consistent data across all products and workflows. Companies that are still trying to drive transformation by bolting on point solutions are quickly starting to realize that there is a limit to how much they can accomplish unless they address the fundamental flaws in their platforms.”
