By Kalpesh Khakhria, Group Chairman at Klay Group

Everyone in the wealth management industry claims to offer “personalisation.” Yet, for most traditional institutions, it remains a hollow buzzword, a superficial exercise of sorting investors into predefined “conservative” or “aggressive” risk boxes. This transaction-led and product-pushing model is fundamentally broken for today’s ultra-high-net-worth families, whose lives, businesses, and assets span multiple global jurisdictions. Real personalisation is a structural necessity that requires a radical overhaul of how advice is delivered.

We are operating in an era where wealthy families are building complex, cross-border portfolios. A business might be headquartered in the GCC, hold properties in Europe, and have beneficiaries residing across continents. The most critical point is “What does this capital need to achieve across generations?” Traditional banking silos, driven by high client-to-advisor ratios and transactional commissions, simply lack the agility and independence to answer this effectively.

While personalisation is a growing trend across the broader service industry, in wealth management, it has become the new currency. It is the primary driver of growth and retention, shifting the industry standard from generic products to trust-based, tailored advice. The future of wealth management will be exclusively influenced by trust and deep customisation. True personalisation relies on two specific, uncompromising differentiators: structural independence and relationship-plus-data intelligence.

First, it is impossible to fully understand a family’s cross-border tax realities, liquidity needs, or succession plans if an advisor manages multiple different accounts. Personalisation requires time and undivided attention. That is why boutique advisory models that deliberately cap an advisor’s roster, such as limiting it to just 20 families, are so critical. By removing the pressure of aggressive sales targets and replacing transaction-led commissions with a transparent advisory fee structure, advisors gain the freedom to ask the “why” behind a client’s wealth. This structural independence aligns the advisor’s interests directly with the client’s long-term outcomes, enabling the advisor to act as a true partner.

Second, modern personalisation demands the seamless integration of advanced financial technology. We have entered the era of “Wealth 3.0,” where artificial intelligence and data analytics are fundamentally changing how the industry forecasts risk and segments clients. AI must be utilised to codify a family’s complex constraints, such as multi-currency exposures, jurisdictional rules, and legacy holdings, into actionable, real-time portfolio adjustments and proactive stress testing.

However, the industry must draw an uncompromising line between automation and autonomy. While AI powerfully accelerates scenario analysis, it cannot replace the human connection. The nuanced human judgment, discretion, and contextual understanding required to navigate complex, multi-generational wealth remains absolutely irreplaceable. Technology provides the speed and the insight, but seasoned human strategists must retain ultimate autonomy to ensure that personalisation scales without compromising suitability or compliance.

Wealth management today must transcend simple market timing. It is about actively building multi-generational partnerships. The families that succeed over time are those who partner with independent advisors who are unconditionally in their corner. By combining bespoke human expertise with cutting-edge data intelligence, true personalisation transforms wealth from a static collection of assets into a powerful, coherent legacy that thrives across generations.

Athar+, Abu Dhabi’s first purpose-driven hub dedicated to accelerating social impact, operated by the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, has launched the second edition of its HACK4IMPACT hackathon, bringing together changemakers to develop practical solutions that address key social priorities and contribute to positive social impact across Abu Dhabi.

Launched in line with the objectives of the UAE’s Year of Family, this edition of the hackathon focuses on addressing family-related challenges through innovative and community-driven approaches. Taking place from 16-18 June 2026 at Athar+, the three-day programme brings together aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, professionals, and community members to develop solutions addressing three family-centred priorities: building stronger family foundations, enhancing financial wellbeing for parents, and supporting families caring for aging parents.

Guided through a structured innovation journey, participants will apply design thinking methodologies to explore challenges, validate ideas, develop prototype concepts, and present their solutions to a panel of judges.

High-potential concepts emerging from the hackathon have the opportunity to be considered for further support through Athar+’s incubation ecosystem, enabling participants to continue developing their solutions beyond the event. Through these challenge areas, the initiative aims to advance family wellbeing, strengthen social cohesion, and support the development of solutions that respond to the evolving needs of families in Abu Dhabi.

This initiative aims to strengthen practical innovation skills among participants while identifying high-potential ideas and scalable concepts capable of addressing key social priorities. It also encourages collaboration by bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds and expertise. The hackathon provides an accessible entry point for youth and first-time innovators to contribute to solving community challenges through entrepreneurship and social innovation, inspiring them to play an active role in shaping impactful and practical solutions.

His Excellency Salem AlShamsi, Executive Director of Social Incubation and Contracting at Ma’an said: “HACK4IMPACT reflects Athar+’s commitment to empowering innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs to develop practical solutions that address real social priorities and enhance quality of life across our communities. By empowering future talent through Athar+, we are strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a regional hub for social entrepreneurship while advancing the Authority’s vision of fostering a culture of giving, participation, and measurable social progress.’’

Aligned with the objectives of the UAE’s Year of Family, the initiative also supports broader national efforts to strengthen family wellbeing, social resilience, and community cohesion through collaborative innovation and inclusive engagement.”

Through dedicated workspaces, expert mentorship, professional services, and tailored growth programmes offered by Athar+, participants will be supported in transforming ideas into prototype concepts while gaining access to opportunities within Abu Dhabi’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Qashio, the UAE’s leading spend management platform, has partnered with NEXA AI Lab, the AI division of NEXA, one of MENA’s leading digital growth agencies, to help accelerate AI adoption across finance teams in the UAE through automation and AI-powered financial workflows.

As part of the partnership, Qashio and NEXA AI Lab will work together to support businesses in adopting AI tools that improve spend visibility, streamline manual processes, and make finance operations more efficient. The partnership will also include a free AI audit to help finance teams identify where AI can deliver immediate operational value and support broader adoption across the business. Both companies say the initiative is designed to move businesses from AI awareness to implementation, in line with the UAE’s national AI strategy targeting full public sector AI integration by 2031.

Amit Vyas, CEO of NEXA, comments: “AI delivers value when it is embedded directly into day-to-day workflows, rather than treated as a standalone concept. Finance is one of the clearest areas where this shift is already taking place, with businesses under increasing pressure to improve real-time decision-making. Through our partnership with Qashio, our goal is to help organisations identify where AI can be applied in practical, high-impact ways across financial operations.”

Armin Moradi, CEO of Qashio, said: “A global industry survey shows that 81% of financial institutions expect AI to be embedded in their core operations by 2030, and the UAE is one of the fastest-growing AI markets globally, setting a new baseline for competitiveness across the private sector. Our partnership with NEXA AI Lab is built to help close the gap between AI adoption plans and real execution, enabling enterprises and SMEs in the UAE to compete with the best in the world.”

Qashio has already integrated AI into its own financial workflows through features such as AI-powered receipt capture, which automatically extracts key information, including TRN, vendor names, and transaction data. The technology helps finance teams reduce manual data entry, save more than 4 hours each week, and maintain cleaner, more reliable financial records.

NEXA brings deep expertise in digital transformation and AI implementation across industries. Together, the two companies are focused on making AI accessible and measurable for businesses in the UAE. Both companies are already using tools like ConvoAI to improve access to data and provide instant support outside of working hours. Qashio is already leveraging NEXA AI Lab’s product offering. This reflects a broader shift towards always-on, AI-enabled operations.