"Investment Advisers are Either Going to Be on the Crest of This AI Wave, or They are Going to Drown Under It": Ray Dalio
As AI reshapes investing and advisory roles, WMI targets 21,000 enrolments in practical, role-specific AI training for wealth and asset management professionals over three years.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 October 2026 – Investors and advisers must learn to work effectively with artificial intelligence (AI) to remain competitive as the technology transforms decision-making and makes sophisticated capabilities broadly accessible, Mr Ray Dalio said today at the WMI Global-Asia Family Office Summit. He said: "You are either going to be on the crest of this AI wave, or you're going to drown under it. This is particularly true in markets, where producing alpha means making decisions that are better than random and better than the competition. Advisers will need to work effectively with AI to remain competitive. You have to get into that game and be able to do it capably. Otherwise, you will be bypassed."
Speaking at the Partners Forum session on Investing in the Age of AI, Mr Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates and Chairman of the Dalio Family Office, said AI can support the entire investment process, from gathering information and defining decision criteria to back-testing, portfolio construction and execution. He stressed that investors still need clear criteria and a game plan, and should challenge AI rather than accept its outputs uncritically.
According to Ray Dalio, investors should develop "their version" of AI that reflects their own values, choices and thinking. He described the future as "you and your AI partner", where ideas are continually challenged, tested and refined through a high-quality intellectual exchange. Rather than relying blindly on technology, investors must understand the cause-and-effect relationships underlying their decisions and use AI to strengthen both their thinking and execution.
WMI to equip professionals for AI-enabled roles
Against this backdrop, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) aims to achieve 21,000 enrolments in its AI training over the next three years. The training will provide practical, role-specific learning for wealth and asset management professionals, with safe and responsible AI use embedded throughout.
Ms Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI, said: "AI is already changing how we invest and advise. Investment professionals can use it to synthesise vast amounts of research, explore portfolio vulnerabilities and strengthen risk analysis."
Ms Foo added that using AI safely requires professionals to protect confidential client information, recognise bias and unreliable outputs, and maintain appropriate human oversight. She said: "AI can generate an answer. Advisers remain accountable for the advice."
"As AI takes on more analysis and routine work, the premium on human connection rises. Advisers who know how to use AI well will be better equipped to thrive—with deeper insights, better preparation and more time to understand family concerns, build trust and strengthen relationships."
The training supports the wider industry initiative by the IBF AI Workforce Co-Lab, recently launched by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong to prepare the financial sector for changing jobs through training and job redesign. WMI's goal is to help professionals turn AI capability into higher productivity, better advice and deeper client relationships.
Advisers have an opportunity to earn deeper trust
Addressing more than 400 participants, including family principals, private bankers, wealth and asset managers, lawyers, tax and trust advisers and many others who support families across generations, Ms Foo said advisers must move beyond individual products towards understanding families' holistic needs and shaping advice around them.
New findings from WMI's Stewardship by Design: Preparing Asia's Next Generation for Leadership and Impact study underline the opportunity facing the profession.
The study was conducted jointly with academics from Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. It draws on responses from about 150 family offices, primarily based in Asia. It compares their responses with those of family offices worldwide, with the majority from the Americas.
Only 32 per cent of family offices in WMI's primarily Asian sample identified advisers as a source of guidance when considering strategic decisions about their wealth and legacy, a rate about one fifth lower than in the international sample.
Ms Foo said: "This points to a significant opportunity for advisers to earn a greater role in families' decision-making. Doing so requires them to understand how a family's investments, governance, succession and purpose connect. It is a capability we must build."
Strengthening philanthropy and legacy capabilities
WMI and the Private Banking Industry Group are also expanding their partnership. Over the next three years, they expect to see 1,200 enrolments among private bankers keen to be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to guide families on philanthropy, legacy and purpose.
Ms Foo said: "We are seeing strong interest from advisers in building knowledge in philanthropy. Philanthropy gives families a practical way to put their values into action. It can bring generations together around a shared purpose and give younger members experience in making decisions and taking responsibility."
The Partners Forum is the second day of the fifth WMI Global-Asia Family Office Summit, held under the theme Legacy in Action: Capital for the New Horizon. The Forum also explores next-generation investing, family office governance, philanthropy, long-term capital and the impact of emerging technologies and AI on investment decision-making.
Across two days, the Summit welcomed over 630 participants from the family office ecosystem, reflecting the growth of WMI's family office community alongside Singapore's family office ecosystem.
For Ms Foo Mee Har's full speech, click here.
To download the report, click here.
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About WMI
Established in 2003, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) is committed to building capabilities for investing in a better tomorrow. Founded by GIC and Temasek, our vision is to be Asia's Centre of Excellence for wealth and asset management education and research.
WMI provides a comprehensive suite of practice-based certification and diploma programmes and collaborates with leading universities for master's degrees. With over 20,000 annual enrolments, WMI serves a diverse community of professionals across Asia—including wealth and asset managers, family offices, and professionals in tax, legal, compliance, and financial regulation across more than 160 programmes. WMI is recognised as Singapore's lead training provider for private banking and wealth management.
WMI helms the Global-Asia Family Office (GFO) Circle, a trusted network platform that builds capabilities and fosters community within the family office sector. The GFO Circle is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). WMI also leads the Asia Centre for Changemakers (ACC), supported by Temasek Trust and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA). The ACC aims to build capacity and nurture a strong pipeline of active and informed changemakers with a focus on Asia.
