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Continuing our series on how clients’ use of AI puts advisors under pressure to demonstrate their value proposition, here’s a research report from HSBC that shows how people around the world are using this technology. It turns out that Singapore is leading the way in its enthusiasm for AI.
HBSC research has found that Singapore’s high-net-worth and high-net-worth investors are more likely than the global average to use AI to process finance and investments, highlighting how advisors continue to be mindful of new technological realities.
HSBC said it conducted a poll of more than 600 people in Singapore in January and February.
Approximately 76% of those surveyed use AI in finance and investing, compared to a global average of 72%. Still, there is still a need for financial advisors to validate AI-generated insights before making investment decisions. The research, published by HSBC from Ipsos, included 9,993 mass affluent and high net worth investors across 10 markets: Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE, UK and US.
Ashmita Acharya, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC Singapore, said: “New data shows that Singaporean investors are using AI in their financial decision-making with discipline.” “They analyze more things themselves, arrive at better-prepared conversations, and as a result expect more from the professional advisors who help them. This isn’t a challenge to the advisor relationship model; it’s setting a higher standard for what good advice looks like.”
As the publication’s editors discuss here, wealth managers and bankers need to rethink their value proposition as more clients gain AI-driven insights before and after in-person meetings and video calls, covering topics ranging from asset allocation to tax structures and trust types. (See related feature on this topic.)
Singapore’s HSBC said it is accelerating the rollout of advisor-enabled AI, including Wealth Intelligence, launched in September 2025, and AI Prepare, launched in May this year. Wealth Intelligence gives relationship managers access to insights and research from more than 10,000 sources, enabling advisors to better inform conversations with clients, the bank said. AI Prepare generates client engagement packs in seconds, putting together a complete picture of your client’s finances.
Last month, the bank and Google Cloud announced a multi-year strategic AI partnership that includes hyper-personalized wealth management support among its three initial focus areas. The partnership is expected to enable more than 200 new AI use cases across HSBC’s global operations within two years.
generational difference
According to HSBC, the intergenerational spread of adoption is one of the most striking findings specific to Singapore. 72% of Gen X investors report using AI in finance, compared to 65% of global investors. The gap is even wider among baby boomers: 72 per cent in Singapore compared to 59 per cent globally. AI’s involvement here is not focused on young investors. It cut across age groups in a way that distinguishes Singapore from most of the other nine markets surveyed, the bank said.
The report states that the introduction of AI will not lead to trust. Just 8% of investors in Singapore said AI was the single most influential source of information in their last major investment decision, compared to 12% globally. Additionally, 43% said they were more willing to take calculated risks through AI, which is below the global average of 49% and consistent with Singapore’s positioning as a more cautious market, along with the US (44%), UK (39%) and Taiwan (43%), the bank said.
Investors use AI for research and analysis (69 percent), strategy support (44 percent), stress testing their ideas (34 percent), and then take those results to professional advisors for reassurance (79 percent) and strategic expertise (71 percent). Four in 10 Singaporean investors (40%) say their ideal approach is a hybrid, with 57% preferring AI to work with advisors, more than global investors (50%). That preference has persisted across generations, with 45 per cent of Gen Z investors in Singapore preferring the order in which they generate new investment ideas, compared to 38 per cent of global investors.
HSBC research says AI is changing investor attitudes. Globally, about 51 percent say they feel in control, compared to 26 percent who say they don’t feel in control. For one in five (20%), AI reduces fear of investing and lowers barriers to entry.
Almost half (49%) of global survey participants say AI makes them more willing to take calculated risks, more than double the 20% who say AI makes them more cautious. The impact is more pronounced in parts of Asia and the Middle East, with India (64%), the UAE (63%), Malaysia (54%) and Hong Kong (53%) reporting a higher willingness to take calculated risks, while the US (44%), Singapore (43%), Taiwan (43%) and the UK (39%) take a more cautious approach.
humans in the loop
Among high-net-worth investors (those with $2 million or more in investable assets), adoption of AI has reached 9 in 10 (90%) and 82% globally. Singapore’s wealthiest respondents said that an average of 40% of their investment returns in the past 12 months was due to the impact of AI, compared to an average of 31% for all Singapore investors surveyed. At the same time, two-thirds (65%) say AI makes them feel more in control.
The Singapore dataset consists of 609 respondents (weighted).
Commenting on the global survey, Barry O’Byrne, CEO of International Wealth & Premier Banking at HSBC, said: “Customers are increasingly using AI to explore their options, but they value judgment, context and accountability from a trusted wealth advisor when making investment decisions.”
