Yorick Naeff

Dear Yorick, great to have you! You are currently Chief Innovation at ABN AMRO and you co-founded the investment platform BUX. Could you briefly tell us about your background and what brought you from building a fintech scale-up to leading innovation within a large bank?
Thank you for having me! My journey in financial services has been shaped by a passion for leveraging technology to make finance more accessible and impactful. At BUX, we aimed to democratize investing by creating an engaging, user-friendly platform for retail investors. The scale-up environment allows me to experiment with bold ideas and reshape traditional approaches to not just investing, but bank-wide. Transitioning to ABN AMRO was therefore driven by the opportunity to scale innovation at a larger level, influencing not just retail but also institutional and private banking. At ABN AMRO, I am excited to work on driving transformative change within a trusted institution, aligning the agility of fintech with the depth and scale of a traditional bank.

Having experienced both the agility of a fintech and the scale of a traditional bank, what key lessons from your time at BUX are you now applying in your role at ABN AMRO?
One key lesson is the importance of customer-centricity. At BUX, every feature and decision revolved around creating a seamless, intuitive experience for users. At ABN AMRO, I aim to bring that same mentality to innovation, ensuring that digital transformation is driven by genuine client needs rather than just technology trends. Another lesson is the value of speed and experimentation. In fintech, quick iterations and learning from failures are essential. While a traditional bank operates at a different pace due to regulatory and structural considerations, fostering a culture of experimentation within ABN AMRO is a key priority for me. Finally, collaboration between diverse teams (i.e. tech, product, and risk/compliance) was crucial at BUX, and I see it as a key driver to successful innovation at ABN AMRO as well.

At the event you will speak about the role of agentic AI in banking. How do you define agentic AI in the context of financial services, and what makes it different from the generative AI applications we have seen emerging over the past few years?

Agentic AI refers to systems that can act autonomously on behalf of users to achieve specific goals. It goes beyond generative AI, which primarily creates content or insights, by enabling decision-making and execution in complex processes. In financial services,agentic AI can analyze vast amounts of data, identify opportunities or risks, and even take action within predefined boundaries. For example, it could autonomously rebalance a portfolio based on market conditions or automate compliance checks in real-time. What sets agentic AI apart is its capacity to not just assist humans but to act autonomously in areas where precision and speed are critical, making it a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and personalization in banking.

Looking specifically at Wealth Management and Private Banking, where do you see the most impactful applications of agentic AI in the coming years—for example in client interaction, portfolio construction, or operational efficiency?
Agentic AI has the potential to transform Wealth Management and Private Banking across multiple dimensions. First of all, we already see the first clients using AI agents to interact with the bank. In client interaction, we might want to look at creating agents as well that can interact with the agents of our clients. Next to this, we can enable hyper-personalized advice by analyzing client profiles, preferences, and market trends, delivering tailored insights proactively. For portfolio construction, agentic AI can optimize asset allocation dynamically, responding to shifts in the market or changes in a client’s financial goals. On the operational side, it can streamline processes like compliance, risk management, and reporting, significantly reducing manual workloads and improving accuracy. Ultimately, the most impactful applications will be those that enhance trust and value for clients while improving scalability and efficiency for the bank.

Finally, what are you most looking forward to at the Leaders in Finance Wealth Management Event 2026 on 9 April, and what kind of discussion or debate do you hope your session will spark among the audience?
I’m looking forward to engaging with a diverse group of leaders, innovators, and experts in the wealth management space to exchange ideas and perspectives. My hope is that my session sparks a meaningful discussion about the ethical and strategic implications of agentic AI in banking. I’d love for the audience to dive into questions about trust, transparency, and the balance between automation and human touch in financial services. The event is an excellent opportunity to collectively explore how emerging technologies can redefine the future of Wealth Management in ways that benefit both institutions and clients.