Broadridge 2026 Digital Transformation & Mext-Gen Technology Study

Source: Broadridge https://share.google/EM4jzAERajenw3UoK

**Headline shift: AI overtakes cloud**

- GenAI surpassed cloud as the technology firms say delivers the greatest business impact (28% vs. 21%), a +17pp jump for GenAI year-over-year.

- AI usage hit critical mass: 80% of firms now use GenAI or predictive AI, up from 31% in 2025 (+49pp), with 27% already realizing financial benefits (up from 14%).

- Firms now allocate roughly one-third of technology budgets to innovation versus "lights on."

**Agentic AI — early but accelerating**

- 26% of firms currently use agentic AI; of those, 51% have moved past pilots into active production.

- 57% are making moderate-to-large investments, and 15% plan to increase investment over the next two years.

- Adoption skews to scale: $250B+ AUM firms (32%) are nearly twice as likely as $1–5B firms (17%) to be in active production.

**Tokenization reshaping market structure**

- 54% of firms are making moderate-to-large investments in tokenization/digital asset infrastructure; 55% expect blockchain/DLT to unlock new capital markets opportunities.

- Firms expect material tokenization within ~4–5.5 years across money markets (4 yrs), private/alts (4.5), equities and funds/ETFs (5), and private companies (5.5).

- Real-world momentum (Robinhood, Kraken, DTCC, exchange filings) is moving tokenized securities from speculation toward reality.

**Foundational gaps: data & tech stack**

- 84% say integrating front-, middle-, and back-office into a unified platform is important, but 43% believe they need an entirely new tech stack to thrive in the AI age.

- The hardest part is data ontology and synchronization — one firm cited 12 Microsoft tenants and nine CRMs across a 500-person org.

- Winners prioritize scalable cloud-native infrastructure, unified interfaces, and embedded AI/analytics.

**Talent as a make-or-break factor**

- 38% cite lack of skilled talent as the top barrier to GenAI adoption (up from 28%); 37% say the same for agentic AI.

- 65% have no formal mandate or incentive to use AI; 61% encourage training but set no formal targets.

- Some firms frame AI itself as a way to bridge the talent gap and boost productivity.

**The winner's playbook**

- Agility beats size — smaller firms close the gap faster thanks to less legacy debt, though scale still aids early adoption.

- Success is multidisciplinary: leaning into AI and tokenization without easing up on cloud, data, and cybersecurity.

- Top "magic wand" wishes were cyber-resilience, unified/single-source data, and AI with proven business impact.

*Methodology: 947 respondents across wealth management, capital markets, and asset management; $77B average AUM; fielded Sept–Nov 2025.*