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Why Innovation Labs Are A Wealth Sector Trend In Asia 

Editorial Staff

31 July 2026

Private banks and wealth management groups – as in the case of WRISE as reported elsewhere here – are in the AI “innovation lab” business. 

These “labs” have moved from being pilot projects into operations that can build usable capabilities for advisors handling clients, as well as for internal processes. Tasks include topics such as shortening onboarding times, client reporting on portfolios, flagging risks and keeping finances on track. 

Unsurprisingly, Singapore and Hong Kong are the main launchpads for this activity because they have clusters of financial firms, unversities and technology expertise. 

One of the big drivers, besides a desire to ease compliance burdens, is productivity. For years, WealthBriefingAsia has been told about a skills shortage as firms scramble to serve a rising and affluent middle class. This raises the question of how RMs and others can serve more clients without losing a personal touch. That means handing over time-consuming chores to AI so that people can get out of the office and meet clients and cultivate new ones.

Building tools to unlock that productivity, as well as helping to foster tighter relationships between firms and clients, is what these AI labs are about.  

Not all the “labs” that have been set up in recent years explicitly reference AI as part of their raison d’etre. The term was in use before AI became the all-encompassing theme that it is now.