WealthAi has signed Patronus Partners as a client, with the deal covering a full deployment of its system across the wealth manager’s business.

Patronus selected the platform after testing a range of artificial intelligence tools over the past 18 months and concluding that separate products did not work well together. The firm had been using a mix of older systems for customer relationship management, compliance and operations, creating duplication and adding administrative work.

The agreement offers a snapshot of how wealth management firms are approaching AI adoption as they try to modernise established technology estates without replacing every existing system at once. In Patronus’s case, the focus was on linking front-, middle- and back-office work through a single layer rather than adding more standalone applications.

Patronus provides wealth management, family office, investment management and trading services. The London-based firm has operated for 11 years and said its existing systems had developed into a patchwork of tools that worked in isolation.

That fragmentation became more noticeable as the business explored AI. Patronus said experiments with tools from OpenAI, Gemini and Anthropic highlighted potential uses across operations, but also exposed practical issues, including inconsistent outputs, limited fit with wealth management workflows and the burden of maintaining oversight in a regulated environment.

The rollout will deploy WealthAi’s assistant and agent layer across the entire Patronus operation. Specialist agents are due to handle compliance monitoring, client management, research and operational workflows, while the system connects with existing infrastructure.

WealthAi said its platform uses a hybrid structure that combines trained small language models with deterministic workflows. According to the company, this allows processes to update continuously without manual changes by Patronus staff.

For Patronus, the operational case appears central. Wealth managers have been under pressure to reduce the time advisers and support teams spend on administration, especially as firms face rising client expectations and heavier regulatory obligations.

Jeremy Steinson, Director at Patronus Partners, described the firm’s experience working with a fragmented technology stack before adopting a single system.

“Before adopting AI, we had a plethora of different systems, none of them talking to each other, all rather archaic, with limited intelligence, let alone artificial intelligence. Like most wealth management firms, it often felt as though we were spending most of our time handling admin when all we wanted was to get back to serving clients and ensuring best outcomes for them.

“We have been utilising AI for the last 18 months, experimenting with tools built by the AI giants that don’t fully understand the nuances and intricacies of our industry. They could improve individual processes or systems, but they wouldn’t communicate with each other. What we wanted was an LLM-agnostic provider that could deliver a full AI overlay to our whole operation in a secure and coherent way. Building a new operating system with WealthAi is how we turn a new page.

“We believe we have found an AI-native platform that understands our market, can be fully embedded throughout our business, can link to any additional tech provider we need to use and, crucially, updates automatically without manual intervention from us. For us, WealthAi is our digital CTO – hopefully a gamechanger in this rapidly evolving market,” Steinson said.

Industry shift

The client win also points to a wider shift in the sector, where firms are moving from isolated AI pilots towards broader operating models. Instead of testing one model for one task, some wealth managers are seeking systems that span regulated workflows and connect data, research, and internal processes in one place.

Patronus will also gain access to WealthAi’s marketplace of data and research providers, including SIX, Morningstar, Capital Economics, MDOTM, and Axyon, as well as a data layer that connects to more than 250 custodians and banks.

WealthAi is based in London and focuses on software for wealth managers. Its offering is designed to replace fragmented legacy infrastructure with a modular AI layer, allowing firms to deploy and scale AI-driven workflows without large overhauls to core systems.

Jason Nabi, Chief Executive Officer of WealthAi, said the Patronus deployment reflects a common problem among firms that have experimented with new AI products while still relying on older systems.

“Patronus is a great example of where the wealth management industry is right now, and a really exciting example of the sort of innovative approach wealth management firms want to take to make their systems and processes work harder, faster and better for clients.

“Firms like Patronus have been experimenting with AI for the best part of two years, but where they struggle is in trying to bolt the latest AI tools onto one another, or onto legacy systems that were never designed to work together. What they actually need is an operating system that connects everything, front to back, across every workflow, with the compliance and governance controls built in from day one. That’s exactly what we’re building for Patronus,” Nabi said.

Available at participating restaurants throughout the tournament, the FIFA World Cup 26 meal offers fans a range of new and returning items.

Featuring two new burgers and a range of updated snacks and desserts as part of a global campaign.

The menu is designed to capture “global energy” and celebrate “the game’s biggest moments.”

McDonald’s announces limited-edition World Cup menu

The menu features the Mexican Chipotle Chicken burger, made with 100 per cent chicken breast in a crispy coating, chipotle mayo, smoky sauce, slivered and crispy onions, lettuce, and a slice of white cheddar cheese.

Also on offer is the Sweet Carolina BBQ Stack, featuring two 100 per cent British & Irish beef quarter-pounder patties with cheese, bacon, grilled and crispy onions, lettuce, and sweet Carolina BBQ sauce.

For cheese lovers, Crunchy Cheese Bites return to the menu.

These bites combine mozzarella and Gouda in a crunchy breadcrumb coating and are served with a BBQ dip.

A fan favourite also returns for a limited time: the Big Mac sauce dip.

Described as a rich and creamy sauce, it offers fans the chance to enjoy the signature Big Mac flavour on the side until stocks run out.

To round off the meal, two new McFlurry options are available.

The Galaxy Chocolate McFlurry combines soft dairy ice cream with Galaxy chocolate pieces and chocolate sauce, while the Galaxy Salted Caramel McFlurry adds a salted caramel flavour to the mix.

Morgan Flatley, global chief marketing officer and head of new business ventures at McDonald’s, said: “At McDonald’s, magic happens when friends and fans come together and celebrate with the people they love.

Guests can also get collectable cups. (Image: McDonald’s)

“Partnering with the FIFA World Cup 26 allows us to take that shared joy and bring it to life at a global scale through our food, our experiences, and the ways fans connect with the game.

“As football icons take the field to unite fans across continents, McDonald’s will be there with limited-time meals and keepsakes so fans can be part of the excitement all tournament long and beyond.”

The limited edition menu is part of McDonald’s ongoing partnership with FIFA World Cup 26 and aims to capture the excitement and togetherness of the tournament.

Will you be trying the new McDonald’s menu? Let us know in the comments.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Large organisations are improving their cyber security only slowly, while AI-related defences remain limited, according to Wavestone. The consultancy said the UK is now experiencing four nationally significant cyber attacks each week.

Its seventh annual Cyber Benchmark assessed more than 200 large organisations, representing nearly 7 million employees, against the NIST CSF v2.0 and ISO 27001 standards. Across the group, average cyber security maturity reached 55.3%, up 1.3 points from the previous year.

The findings show a sharp gap between AI governance and practical protection. While 76% of large organisations said they have a dedicated AI security policy, only 10% have put defences in place against AI-specific attacks such as prompt injection.

The disparity comes as companies face a shifting threat landscape, with attackers using AI tools to automate phishing and refine attack methods. Dedicated AI response teams remain uncommon, though Wavestone identified their emergence as an early trend among larger organisations.

Regulated sectors

The benchmark shows regulated industries ahead of the wider market. Financial services recorded cyber security maturity of 67.6%, up 5.1 points, which Wavestone linked to regulation, including DORA, and continued spending.

By contrast, non-regulated sectors showed no significant improvement. The gap between regulated and non-regulated organisations widened to 8.8 points, up 2.1 points from the previous year.

The data suggests regulation is helping to raise standards, but not uniformly across the economy. That uneven progress may deepen concerns for policymakers and company boards as reporting requirements and resilience expectations expand.

Compliance gap

The survey also found that none of the organisations assessed could yet fully and sustainably meet the requirements of the EU’s NIS 2 cyber security directive. Large organisations averaged 60% maturity against those requirements.

The shortfall is notable in the context of the UK’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, now at Report Stage in the House of Commons. The benchmark indicates that many organisations still face a substantial gap between current practice and the level of readiness expected under tougher resilience rules.

Overall progress appears to be slowing. Although the average maturity score rose, the annual increase was modest, suggesting many large organisations are struggling to keep pace with a threat environment evolving faster than internal controls and operating models.

For businesses, the findings point to a broader problem than technology spending alone. Policies are being written and governance structures are taking shape, but controls for new AI-related risks remain at an early stage of implementation.

That leaves organisations exposed in an area where attackers may move faster than defenders. Prompt injection and other AI-specific attack methods remain relatively new concerns for many corporate security teams, particularly those still focused on more established threats such as phishing, ransomware and supply-chain compromise.

Florian Pouchet, Partner and Head of Cybersecurity and Operational Resilience at Wavestone, said: “The threat environment is changing faster than most organisations can adapt. Geopolitical tensions and AI-powered attacks are intensifying precisely as regulatory pressure mounts. What the benchmark tells us is that the market knows this. The next step is to accelerate security measures.”