At the 2025 Hubbis Thailand Wealth Management Forum, Darell Miller, Managing Director for APAC at Wealth Dynamix, offered a practical and compliance-focused view of artificial intelligence. In his session, “REAL Intelligence – What You Can Do Now to Gain Real Benefits from AI”, he set aside theoretical speculation to focus on what wealth managers can implement today. His core message was clear: AI is no longer a future concept. With the right data, structure and oversight, it is already delivering real results for firms of all sizes.
Darell highlighted that the company’s core aim is to help wealth managers deliver high-quality client experiences at scale, in a way that is operationally efficient, compliant, and future-ready. “We are not here to talk about artificial intelligence in the abstract,” he explained. “We are here to talk about real intelligence – how to derive measurable value from AI using systems and data that you already have.”
Meeting growth expectations with the same workforce
The wealth management sector in Asia faces an ambitious growth mandate. According to Accenture’s 2024 Future of Asia Wealth Management report, firms in the region are seeking to double assets under management (AUM) to 260 trillion US dollars by 2026, while increasing revenues by 70 percent. Crucially, this growth is not expected to come through acquisition. It must be delivered organically, largely by enabling existing relationship managers to handle more business.
Darell pointed to a clear operational challenge: most high-net-worth (HNW) RMs currently manage between 70 and 100 clients. Their ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) counterparts, with the support of two assistants, typically manage between 35 and 50. Doubling AUM without adding headcount implies that each RM must become significantly more productive – something that current systems, he argued, are not built to support.
“Your RMs are already at full capacity,” Darell observed. “If you do not re-engineer your processes now, they will not be able to deliver what the business is asking of them.”
Embracing the cloud – securely
Darell identified three core certainties that wealth managers must acknowledge when approaching AI. The first is that public cloud infrastructure is the only feasible pathway for most institutions seeking to adopt AI at scale. Building and maintaining private cloud environments, complete with Graphics Processing Unit infrastructure and technical talent, is simply not a cost-effective option for the majority of firms.
However, this does not mean compromising client data. Through tokenisation at the field level, Wealth Dynamix offers a solution that ensures customer identifying data (CID) remains secure and unreadable – even when processed in the cloud. This approach has already been reviewed by regulators including FINMA in Switzerland and the CSSF in Luxembourg.
“Field-level tokenisation allows firms to benefit from the scale and flexibility of cloud computing while retaining complete control over client privacy,” he said. “It is more secure than most on-premise solutions.”
Data structure and process discipline
The second certainty, Darell explained, is that AI can only be effective if it is built on accurate data and well-defined processes. Without these, automation can exacerbate risk rather than reduce it.
Before AI, inconsistent data and unstructured workflows led to inefficiencies and poor service. In the AI era, the same issues result in compliance breaches, operational exposure and reputational harm. Firms must first establish a robust, wealth-specific data model, and then align it with clearly structured client engagement processes that reflect the nuances of HNW and UHNW client relationships.
“AI is not a fix for bad data,” Darell said. “It will amplify what already exists – whether good or bad. You must get the foundations right.”
Compliance as a design principle
Darell’s third certainty focused on regulation. Compliance cannot be retrofitted into AI solutions. Instead, it must be integrated from the outset. Firms must be able to demonstrate that their systems support and evidence regulatory engagement across all client touchpoints. This includes structured workflows, clear stage gates, and audit-ready data trails.
He stressed the importance of involving compliance teams early in the design phase. By collaborating with compliance from the beginning, firms can create systems that support innovation while maintaining trust and transparency.
“Generative AI is not good at structure, traceability or accountability,” he said. “These are precisely the things that regulators care about. So you need to build them in – not bolt them on.”
From concept to execution: AI in practice
Darell then turned to examples of how Wealth Dynamix clients are already using AI to improve efficiency, client service and regulatory oversight.
An example use-case is perpetual KYC. If a client mentions a new address in a text message, the system identifies the change, checks whether it reflects a job move or relocation, and triggers a review. All of this happens in the background, enabling the RM to maintain continuity while staying compliant.
Other examples include AI-generated pitch decks, automated onboarding document checks, and AI agents trained to handle specific administrative tasks. These agents do not replace RMs – they support them. With the right structure in place, one RM could eventually be supported by up to nine AI agents, handling as many as 150 to 200 clients with a higher level of personalisation and responsiveness than before.
Closing thoughts: Capability, not just technology
Darell concluded by reminding the audience that AI is not a standalone tool or project. It is a capability – one that must be embedded within the firm’s data, processes, culture and compliance infrastructure. When approached correctly, AI enables firms to serve more clients, more effectively, with greater transparency and lower cost.
He encouraged firms to avoid perfectionism and instead start small. Identify one use case, implement it well, and scale from there. With a modular, SaaS-based delivery model, Wealth Dynamix offers the infrastructure to support this journey – whether for 10 users or 10,000.
“AI is here, and it is already working,” he concluded. “But the firms who benefit will be the ones who prepare the foundations first and then roll out AI tools.”