This report identifies key demand-side trends in the financial services space that can help enterprises fine-tune their digital strategies. It also provides an overview of enterprise challenges in the financial services space based on Avasant’s assessment.

Why read this Market Insights?

The financial services industry is undergoing significant changes due to a combination of structural and market forces. These include a rising demand for hybrid advisory models, an increase in digital assets, ongoing margin compression in investment banks, the acceleration of T+1 settlement mandates across Europe, and a growing focus on sustainable investment strategies. In response to these challenges, companies are integrating AI and advanced analytics into their core operations, adopting blockchain and tokenization to access new asset classes, expanding cloud infrastructure and data platforms for greater agility, and implementing AI-driven solutions for compliance and cybersecurity. Together, these efforts are creating a new standard for personalized, resilient, and efficient financial services.

The Financial Services Digital Services 2025 Market Insights™ aids financial services enterprises in identifying important market trends and challenges for any digital project that they take part in.

Methodology

The industry insights presented in this report are based on our ongoing interactions with enterprise CXOs and other key executives, targeted discussions with service providers, subject matter experts, and Avasant Fellows, analyst insights from primary and secondary research, and lessons learned from consulting engagements.

Table of contents

About the report (Page 3)

Executive summary (Pages 4–7)

• • Defining the scope of financial services
  • Key drivers and enterprise response
  • Avasant recognizes 21 top-tier providers supporting the financial services industry in digital transformation

Demand-side trends (Pages 8–13)

• • Demand for hybrid advisory is reshaping wealth management models as firms integrate robo-advisory capabilities with access to certified advisors
  • Alternative investments and digital assets growth call for digital asset exchanges and secure digital custody solutions, with smart contracts and tokenization
  • Investment banks are responding to rising margin pressures and fee compression by pivoting to automation along with asset-light models and leveraging GCCs
  • Accelerated T+1 settlement timelines alongside increasing risks are prompting FS firms to adopt RegTech for real-time disclosures and faster trade clearing
  • Private credit and equity capital are increasingly driving ESG investments, promoting green innovation through real-time tracking of sustainability KPIs

Key contacts (Page 14)

Read the Research Byte based on this report. Please refer to Avasant’s Financial Services Digital Services 2025 RadarView™ for detailed insights on the service providers and supply-side trends.