Financial services enters new phase as AI scales and tokenisation rises

By Puja Sharma

With GenAI deployment delivering measurable business results, financial services firms are doubling down on technology transformation and taking aim at the tokenisation of market infrastructure.

According to the sixth annual 2026 Digital Transformation & Next-Gen Technology Study from global FinTech platform Broadridge Financial Solutions, financial services firms are moving beyond GenAI experimentation toward scaled execution, using agentic AI to drive immediate productivity gains while investing in distributed ledger and blockchain infrastructure that could fundamentally reshape financial markets.

The global study, based on a survey of more than 900 financial services technology and operations leaders across wealth management, capital markets, and asset management, finds the industry at a pivotal moment: AI is becoming foundational to day-to-day operations, while tokenisation represents the next wave of market evolution.

“AI proved the industry can modernise at speed,” said Germán Soto Sanchez, Chief Product and Strategy Officer. “Tokenisation is the next leap forward that will re-architect markets. It’s clear financial services firms see tokenisation is a long-term structural evolution to financial market infrastructure that delivers efficiency, transparency, and liquidity.”

AI Moves from Pilots to Production

AI adoption has accelerated dramatically over the past year. Around 80% of firms report using generative or predictive AI in operations, up from 31% last year, reflecting a rapid move from pilot programs to enterprise deployment. AI is also viewed as delivering the greatest business impact among next-generation technologies, surpassing cloud. As confidence in returns grows, 72% of firms report making moderate to large GenAI investments, while concern about GenAI ROI has fallen to 33%, down from 42% a year ago.

That shift is translating into results: 27% of firms report measurable business benefits from GenAI, a 13-point increase year over year, underscoring AI’s growing impact on productivity and operational efficiency.

As generative AI matures, firms are beginning to deploy agentic AI—more autonomous systems capable of executing tasks and orchestrating workflows with limited human intervention. While still early, 26% of firms report current use of agentic AI, with more than half of those deployments already beyond pilot phases. Adoption is most advanced among large institutions, where nearly one-third of firms managing more than $250 billion in assets report active use.

Tokenisation Approaches an Inflection Point

As AI becomes embedded in operating models, firms are turning their attention to longer-term structural change, reimagining how assets are issued, traded, and settled through tokenisation. 

A majority of firms increasingly view tokenisation as a structural evolution of market infrastructure rather than a near-term replacement for existing systems. While near-term adoption remains measured, confidence in blockchain and distributed ledger technology continues to rise with 53% of firms believing DLT will have a dramatic effect on the way assets are settled—underscoring growing conviction that next-generation infrastructure will reshape post-trade operations and core market infrastructure.

That conviction is increasingly translating into capital commitments. More than half (54%) of firms report making moderate to large investments in tokenisation and digital asset infrastructure, signaling that the industry is moving beyond exploration toward scaled buildout.

Market participants expect a significant portion of major asset classes, including equities, mutual funds, and alternatives, to be tokenised within the next four to five years—with its perceived strategic importance projected to rise sharply over the next five years. Seventy percent of firms say external partnerships will be critical to capturing value as tokenised market infrastructure develops, signaling the need for ecosystem collaboration as standards and interoperability frameworks mature.

While firms cite benefits including enhanced liquidity, improved operational efficiency and faster settlement, they also acknowledge risks related to regulatory uncertainty, interoperability challenges, cybersecurity, and market structure fragmentation. The study found that 64% of firms cite cybersecurity risks associated with tokenisation and 55% point to increased valuation risk. Notably, many firms believe that forthcoming digital asset regulations will ultimately have a positive impact on adoption by providing greater clarity and market stability.

Execution, Not Strategy, Is the Bottleneck

Across both AI and tokenisation initiatives, the primary barriers to progress lie in firms’ ability to execute. Around 84%of firms emphasise the importance of integrated platforms, and 43% expect to rebuild core systems to support AI-driven operating models.

At the same time, talent gaps are becoming more acute: 37% of firms cite lack of skilled talent as a barrier to agentic AI adoption, reflecting rising demand for advanced technical and data capabilities. Regarding GenAI, 38% of firms said lack of skilled talent is their biggest barrier to adoption of GenAI, up from 28% in 2025. When asked about AI overall, 65% of firms say they have no formal mandate or incentives in place to use AI, and 61% say AI training is encouraged, but there are no formal targets in place

An Industry Embarking on Structural Change 

Taken together, the findings point to an industry transitioning from digital experimentation to operational transformation. AI is delivering measurable impact today. Tokenisation represents the next structural shift in how financial markets function. The firms that succeed will be those that pair ambition with disciplined execution—modernising core infrastructure while building the capabilities required to operate in increasingly digitised, interoperable markets.