CIOS Keynote 2026: The key insights at a glance

What happens when wealth management decision-makers, Microsoft, and fincite come together in a room?

That’s exactly what we found out on January 19 in Frankfurt. The CIOS Keynote 2026 was not a typical product event. It was an open exchange about the rise of artificial intelligence and what that specifically means for the industry.

Together with Microsoft on stage

Alongside Michael Mueller from Microsoft, we demonstrated how artificial intelligence is changing wealth management: not in theory, but through real advisory and operational workflows. Michael put it succinctly: The true strength of AI lies not in knowledge, but in how decisions are prepared. Context instead of data. Intention instead of interfaces.

On stage were also Friedhelm A. Schmitt, Co-CEO and founder of fincite, and Paul Kammerer, Chief Commercial Officer. Together they presented our vision for the coming year.

The industry is changing faster than expected

A central theme of the CIOS Keynote 2026: Speed. Innovation cycles have compressed from 60 years to 15 years. Platforms built five to seven years ago are already considered legacy today. At the same time, the expectations of end customers are rising, as they compare their banking experience with Amazon and Netflix.

This poses a clear question for advisors and banks: Is our technology a competitive advantage or a risk?

Hands-on: Our demo stations

In addition to the presentations, participants could experience our latest innovations live. At several demo stations, we showcased CIOS Voice to Action, CIOS AI Copilot, and CIOS AI Profiling, among others. The feedback was impressive. Particularly, Voice to Action sparked a lot of conversation. A technology that enables advisors to trigger portfolio analyses, compliance checks, and reports by voice without losing eye contact with the client.

6 truths: Now in the white paper

From the insights of the keynote, we distilled a white paper: 6 truths about the future of investment advice. It summarizes the key theses: from time-to-value as a new competitive advantage to the role of context in AI, and hyper-personalization as a necessity rather than an option.

There is also a Platform Readiness Assessment with 12 critical questions that show where your platform really stands in 2026.

→ White Paper: 6 Truths about the future of investment advice

Impressions from the CIOS Keynote 2026

If you want to get a sense of the atmosphere, the demos, and the conversations: Our keynote page has photos and videos from the event.

→ CIOS Keynote 2026 Impressions