Unwired Wealth exists because 80% of AI projects fail, 96% of financial advisers believe AI will revolutionise their work, and only 41% of firms are actually scaling it. The gap between intent and execution in Australian wealth management is the problem we were built to solve.
The noise is everywhere
Every vendor has an AI story. Every conference has an AI track. Every platform is promising to "transform" your practice with generative AI.
And yet, the numbers tell a very different story.
According to RAND Corporation research, 80% of AI projects fail, more than twice the failure rate of non-AI technology projects. Gartner predicted that at least 30% of generative AI projects would be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025. S&P Global found that 42% of companies abandoned the majority of their AI initiatives before reaching production in 2025, up from just 17% the year before.
The money keeps flowing in, but the results are not following. Deloitte's 2025 survey of nearly 2,000 executives found that 85% of organisations increased AI investment in the past year, yet only 14% of finance chiefs have seen a clear, measurable impact. ROI payback is taking 2 to 4 years, far longer than the 7 to 12 months expected for standard technology investments.
Generative AI has officially entered what Gartner calls the Trough of Disillusionment. The hype cycle is correcting.
The wealth management gap
For financial planning and wealth management firms specifically, the gap between interest and execution is stark.
Accenture's research across 500 financial advisers found that 96% believe generative AI can revolutionise client servicing and investment management. But only 41% say their firm is actually scaling adoption as a core part of their business. The rest are still experimenting, piloting, or waiting.
Meanwhile, nearly half of all wealth management clients say they do not receive relevant, personalised content from their adviser, despite rating it as their most important need. That is a gap AI can close, if it is implemented properly.
The number one AI application among financial advisers today? Note-taking. The number two? Drafting emails. These are useful, but they barely scratch the surface of what is possible.
Why this matters to us
We did not start Unwired Wealth because AI is trendy. We started it because we kept getting the same call.
Firm principals and practice leaders reaching out, asking the same questions: Where do we start? What is real and what is hype? How do we avoid becoming one of the 80% that fail?
These are people running successful practices. They are not technologists, and they should not have to be. But they can see the shift happening and they want to be on the right side of it.
The problem is that most AI consulting in this space comes from one of two places: technology vendors trying to sell a product, or generalist consultants who do not understand the nuances of financial advice, compliance, and client relationships.
We come from a different place entirely.
What we bring
Our principal, Clinton Cunningham, has spent more than two decades at the intersection of technology and financial services. Over a decade at Deloitte Digital, rising to National Digital Financial Services Director. Before that, building engineering teams from the ground up. Now, as founder of AdviseWell, building venture-backed AI platforms purpose-built for wealth management.
That combination matters. We have seen large-scale digital transformation succeed and fail at the highest levels of enterprise consulting. We have built software, shipped products, and operated at every level from writing code to advising boards. We understand what it takes to move from proof of concept to production, and we understand the specific constraints of financial services: regulation, compliance, client trust, and the deeply personal nature of financial advice.
Our approach
We do not sell technology. We help firms figure out where AI actually creates value for their specific business, then we help them get there.
That means:
- Executive AI coaching that cuts through the noise and helps leadership teams make informed decisions, not reactive ones
- AI strategy and implementation that starts with your business outcomes, not a technology roadmap
- Agentic AI development that builds autonomous systems for real workflows: client onboarding, document processing, compliance checks, portfolio reporting
We take a practical, outcomes-first approach. No jargon-heavy decks. No six-month discovery phases. We move at startup speed with Big 4 rigour.
The opportunity is real
For all the sobering statistics, the firms that get AI right are seeing material results. McKinsey reports that 58% of financial institutions directly attribute revenue growth to AI. Firms already leveraging AI are reporting 25 to 40% improvements in operational efficiency.
The difference between the firms that succeed and the ones that do not is rarely the technology itself. It is how they approach adoption: with clear objectives, realistic expectations, the right expertise, and a willingness to start with high-impact use cases rather than trying to boil the ocean.
That is exactly what we help with.