Oscar Wilde wasn’t a big fan of sitting on the fence. He famously remarked: “The man who sees both sides of a question is a man who sees absolutely nothing.”
Despite that era-spanning rebuke, I feel it’s well worth kicking off the New Year by exploring what might be either good or bad for platforms in 2026. Regardless of what dear old Oscar might think, I reckon there’s a bit of both to take into account.
Given the events of 2025, three themes in particular spring to my mind. They are the continued rise of artificial intelligence, mounting investor uncertainty and ever-increasing competition.
Let’s rattle through them in turn, identifying some of the potential pros and cons for each. By way of sign-off, we can then remain true to the Wildean ideal by attempting to reach a definitive judgement.
The continued rise of AI
The boom in artificial intelligence suffered a wobble or two last year. There are now escalating fears that artificial intelligence’s (AI) capacity to add value and deliver long-term productivity gains might be less spectacular than originally envisaged.
One of the most fascinating insights of 2025 came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which published a study that highlighted a 95% failure rate among companies’ generative AI pilots. The knee-jerk conclusion in many quarters was that AI is already a busted flush.
The platform arena offers no exception in this regard. We know AI could be a major difference-maker, but we’re still getting to grips with how to employ it to best effect. 2026 is likely to be a big year on that score.
Mounting investor uncertainty
Most markets performed well in 2025, despite a few dramatic blips. Yet it seems fair to say that building a secure financial future is becoming more complicated, particularly from a planning perspective.
The UK serves as an obvious illustration. The Autumn Budget threatened to derail – or at least re-route – countless financial journeys. Tax shake-ups and other controversial measures are likely to accelerate the brain drain, with thousands of Britons abandoning a country they see as incapable of sufficiently rewarding their hard work.
In a way, of course, this sort of tumult is marvellous news for advisers. After all, the number of people seeking professional guidance is likely to rise amid such uncertainty and disaffectedness.
By extension, it should also be a boon for platforms. We could see a significant broadening of our stakeholders’ demographics – especially in terms of age and wealth – during the next 12 months.
Ever-increasing competition
The platform space is getting ever more crowded. As in any sphere, this kind of organic growth can entail pluses and minuses alike.
On the one hand, competition can reduce costs, foster innovation and raise the overall standard of products and services. Naturally, it also translates into greater choice for consumers.
On the other hand, there must come a point at which the situation spirals into one of oversupply. That’s when we enter “survival of the fittest” territory, the inevitable upshot of which is some market participants going out of business.
Factor in the aforementioned dynamics – tech advances and the prospect of elevated, more diverse demand – and the task of staying ahead of the curve in thrown into even sharper focus. This suggests no platform, however established or popular it might be, can afford to rest on its laurels.
Conclusion
So what do the above considerations ultimately represent? Do they amount to a perfect storm or might they somehow constitute an aligning of the stars? With apologies to Mr Wilde, I must admit it’s tempting to hedge one’s bets.
If pushed, though, I would tumble towards the latter option. I really do believe there’s plenty to be excited about in the wonderful world of platforms right now – although I would add some key caveats in painting a positive picture.
AI can genuinely make all our lives easier, provided we keep humans in the loop and preserve the personal touch. Investor uncertainty can enhance and expand our appeal, provided we make absolutely clear to would-be clients how we can actually help them. And competition can encourage the best to get even better, provided there’s a willingness to acknowledge the importance of aiming ever higher.
As Oscar also observed: “The optimist sees the donut. The pessimist sees the hole.” Well, the donut gets my vote. In my view, on balance, the way ahead is defined by opportunity.
