Private banking and wealth management clients are optimistic about the developments and implications of AI over the next five years, but at the same time, they are reorienting their portfolios toward more prudent positions in the face of rising geopolitical instability and global uncertainty.
This emerges from the conclusions of the study ‘Investing for Change: Client Strategies and Concerns’, which Deutsche Bank published based on data from a survey of its Private Bank clients conducted between March and May 2026, complemented by another somewhat shorter monthly survey of clients and non-clients. Respondents expect technological advancements within a context of continuous global and social turbulence. Notably, younger respondents (aged 25 to 40) are more pessimistic than older ones regarding issues related to geopolitics or social and environmental cohesion, while this trend reverses when it comes to artificial intelligence.
Specifically, AI, government debt and fiscal pressures, and policy-driven changes in trade patterns are perceived as the main drivers of change by 69.8%, 56.9%, and 50% of respondents, respectively; meanwhile, health security and pharmaceutical advancements ranked as the least influential topics. In fact, 77% are certain that AI will affect most aspects of business and investment. Furthermore, 70.2% believe that higher levels of defense spending will be necessary, and 49.9% are of the opinion that corporate governance must change radically to tackle all of these new global challenges.
