Stockbrokers and wealth managers hit by AI fears as shares tumble

Chris Price

Thu, February 12, 2026 at 2:37 AM GMT+9 2 min read

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Billions have been wiped off British stockbrokers over fears AI will put financial advisers out of business.

Shares in major providers such as St James’s Place and AJ Bell plunged after a new AI tax-planning tool in the US triggered fears wealth managers could be replaced by cheaper bots.

FTSE 100 St James’s Place dropped by as much as 13.3pc, wiping more than £1bn off its market value as investors took fright.

AJ Bell was the worst performer on the FTSE 250 as it plunged as much as 7.1pc. Rival Quilter was not far behind with a drop of as much as 6.1pc.

It comes after developer Altruist released a AI tax tool, known as Hazel, which can read payslips, statements, meeting notes, email and data to help advisors create personalised tax strategies.

This has prompted concerns people will be able to go to AI for financial advice – rather than rely on meeting financial advisers face to face.

On Wall Street, Charles Schwab, Raymond James and Morgan Stanley all fell on on Tuesday.

However, Ben Bathurst, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, dismissed the sell-off, saying it was not the result of an AI “breakthrough”.

He said: “We see this development as entirely expected in light of advances in AI capability and recent product launches in adjacent industries.

“As such we attribute the share price reaction to short-term focused positioning in the market looking to replay a narrative that has played out in other industries, rather than representing any ‘breakthrough’ change in the industry fundamentals.”

AI disruption

The sell-off is the latest in a series of sharp downturns in recent weeks over fears that AI will disrupt different industries.

More than £75m was wiped off the value of the owner of MoneySuperMarket on Tuesday following the launch of a new insurance price comparison app on ChatGPT.

Meanwhile software companies remained the worst performers across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 overall on Wednesday, as doubts remain that their business model will be circumvented by AI.

Data giant Relx was down another 4pc on Wednesday, while accounting software group Sage fell more than 2.5pc.

“The market is reacting and putting everyone in the same category,” Steve Hare, the Sage chief executive, told the BBC.

“I think the thing to remember is in accounting, payroll, tax and compliance, nearly just isn’t good enough. It has to be very precise.”

He added: “Over time the market will figure out the winners and losers but in the meantime Sage just continues to demonstrate what it’s doing and providing that trust to its customers.”

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