Ben Goss, CEO of Dynamic Planner, the UK’s leading digital advice platform has shared five predictions for 2026 – a year in which he believes free-flowing data, trusted AI and mobile adoption will drive a generational shift in access to financial advice and support:
- Systems connect and open up: The Data Act 2025 provides powers to the Treasury to introduce new smart data schemes, paving the way for the long-awaited arrival of Open Finance. Within advice firms too, there’s a push towards open systems and open APIs. The new kid on the block is MCPs (model context protocols) – a way for AI agents to talk to each other. This technology is still at very early stage, but the traction is ferocious. Interconnected systems with free-flowing data create tremendous potential to lift the administrative burden from advisers, enabling them to focus on the client relationship.
- Trusted AI becomes a partner: AI has the potential to accelerate the time savings from automation beyond recognition. The next phase is agentic AI, which combines the reasoning power of LLMs with the ability to carry out tasks more autonomously. The balancing act in 2026 will be to capture the opportunity while maintaining the care vital in our sector. Combining AI with deterministic modelling, using data you can trust, is key to driving consistent, policy-driven outcomes.
- Mobile adoption continues apace: Apps account for around 90% of smartphone use – and their popularity is not limited to younger groups. Even mobile users over the age of 65 spend close to an hour a day on apps. In 2026 and beyond, client expectations will drive financial planning app adoption. This is good news for firms too, creating capacity to service every client, no matter their goals, financial position or location; deepening trust and engagement; and enabling personal advice at scale.
- Targeted support bridges the gap: Our new research shows consumers welcome targeted support, but that it’s unlikely to overcome inertia – except in one very specific circumstance. Among those who have received financial advice in the previous 12 months, targeted support boosts intention to act by 10%, as the trust and confidence that come from receiving financial advice carry through. The potential that opens up for a light-touch service, particularly for those early in their wealth journeys, is significant.
- Persistent uncertainty drives push for certainty: In a landscape of structurally higher volatility and greater uncertainty about the paths of growth and inflation, firms are focusing on what they can control. The rise of vertical integration brings with it a need for certainty from farm to fork: from investment management to the end client. As a result, we’re seeing greater reliance on risk targeting – around both our benchmarks and custom benchmarks.
