The 2025 EY Global Wealth Research Report gathered insights from 3,600 wealthy, finding that factors such asgeopolitical conditions and market volatility encourage wealth managers to enhance their offerings.

Notably, 55 percent of clients in the region reported increasing their meetings with advisers in response to marketvolatility, substantially higher than the global average.

Tariq Khan, director of sales and business development for UK and Middle East and North Africa (MENA), suggested thiswas because clients wish for personalised advice “more quickly” in addition to deeper insights into investment risk andopportunity.

“As the region often looks to more mature markets, such as the UK and Europe, for guidance, the appetite for AI isgrowing, as it can help to bridge the digital and tech readiness gap,” Mr Khan said.

AI can help with this heightened engagement from clients by automatically monitoring portfolios, simulating “what-if”scenarios, and flagging risks or opportunities before clients even need to ask.

Additionally, it can also support hyper personalised services by identifying the most at-risk or high-value clients toprompt a follow-up with.

With AI able to assist wealth managers in a variety of ways, 71 percent of clients in the MENA region expect their wealthmanagers to incorporate AI into their offerings.

This expectation is particularly pronounced among younger generations, with 75 percent of millennials expressing astrong desire for AI-driven solutions.

Additionally 60 percent of wealthy clients anticipate AI will play a substantial role in managing their wealth.

Another expectation is that AI will transform transparency, especially in relation to fees in the industry, the report found.

Currently 15 percent of clients globally accept asset under management (AUM) percentage-based fees, this figure risesto 27 percent in the Middle East. However, there are still concerns about hidden costs.

For example, some wealth managers in the region charge layered fees for transactions, custody, and fund managementwhich can be difficult for clients to track.

AI can automatically break down costs by transaction, product, or strategy if clean data is inputted into it.

Clearer fee structures are already commonplace among clients in the UK and Europe, Mr Khan acknowledged.

Strengthened trust should result in more loyal clients which is becoming increasingly important, especially considering36 percent of clients surveyed demonstrated a willingness to switch providers in the Middle East. This is compared to aglobal average of 19 percent.

While AI can be used to acquire clients in a region that “expects innovation”, it is equally important that it can retainthem.

Ultimately “clients feel better served and become more loyal when their wealth manager is proactive,” Mr Khanconcluded.