Nearly three-quarters of Hong Kong millennials not only accept that their wealth managers will use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to construct and adjust their investment portfolios – they expect them to, according to research by EY.
While people in the millennial generation – aged between 25 and 41 – had faith in AI, only 43 per cent of baby boomers – aged 58 and above – felt the same way, according to the 2025 Global Wealth Research Report published on Tuesday.
“When it comes to using robo-advisers, some clients have even said that in certain circumstances they trust the robo-advisers a bit better than human advisers,” said Patricia Tay, EY’s sector leader for Asia-Pacific banking and capital markets.
“While Hong Kong boomers tend to favour traditional advisory models, younger clients – particularly millennials – show a clear preference for AI-powered tools, personalised digital experiences, and greater openness to digital assets.”
The belief in AI was “a significant generational divide in wealth-management preferences among affluent clients in Hong Kong”, Tay added.
The sixth edition of the report polled more than 3,600 people from 30 markets around the world late last year. The respondents ranged from “mass affluent” people with investible assets of US$250,000 to US$1 million and ultra-high-net-worth clients with US$30 million or more.
