With 2025 mostly in the rearview and the new year just over the horizon, it’s the perfect time for a quick look back and a deeper look at what’s next.
President Donald Trump’s second administration rolled out a succession of policy changes and executive orders that directly affected wealth management and financial advisors, from shifts toward deregulation and greater access to digital assets and private investments to the passage of a massive new tax law.
DOGE cuts and federal workforce reductions dominated headlines in early 2025, followed by springtime tariff turmoil that fueled market turbulence and investor anxiety. By the time the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law in July, markets had not only rebounded but set record highs, helped along by AI investment enthusiasm. Autumn brought the first of three much-awaited quarter-point rate cuts from the Fed, along with the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown and growing concern over a potential AI bubble. And across the year, industry M&A continued to race along at a feverish clip.
So, on the cusp of 2026, what does it all mean for wealth management?
Advisors know better than anyone that nobody can reliably forecast the behavior of financial markets, the economy or (perhaps especially) the humans whose actions drive those forces. But informed decisions can go a long way.
With that in mind, we asked six leaders from across the industry to share their hot takes for 2026. Here’s what they predict when it comes to the future of RIAs, tax strategy, AI in wealth, private markets, wirehouses and the concept of retirement itself:
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