Bhaskar Peddhapati, Chief Technology Officer for Envestnet, joined Zoe Hunt, Host of RIA Channel, at Envestnet Elevate 2026 to discuss why trust, governance, and explainability are essential to scaling AI.
Peddhapati, who joined Envestnet in 2025 with a mandate to embed AI across the platform, says the firm’s goal is to give advisors more time to focus on client relationships. To achieve this, Envestnet is focused on three key areas: unifying data across accounts, portfolios, and households to provide greater context for decision-making; automating workflows such as onboarding and trade preparation; and delivering personalized insights tailored to clients’ needs in real time.
Peddhapati emphasizes that these initiatives are built on a foundation of data, governance, compliance, and explainability. In a highly regulated industry, Peddhapati notes that trust is critical and that adoption happens at the speed of trust. He adds that Envestnet is committed to keeping humans in the loop by ensuring advisors have to review and approve AI-generated insights before they are shared with clients.
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