Riskmanagement has overtaken every other operational concern among globalbrokerages heading into 2026, according to a new industry report fromtechnology provider Tools for Brokers (TFB). The timingis notable. Retail tradingdemand hit record highs in early 2026, surging 25% above the previous peak setduring the 2021 pandemic surge, with FMIntel data suggesting monthly CFDvolumes could exceed $37 trillion this year. That kind of volume puts everyoperational weakness under a microscope.Some 34% ofrespondents named risk management as their primary challenge for the yearahead, placing it comfortably above the second-ranked concern, scalingoperations, cited by 26% of firms. Technology stack complexity followed at 15%,with compliance and regulation accounting for 11%.Risk Is No Longer aBack-Office ProblemFor years,risk oversight sat somewhere between a compliance checkbox and a back-officefunction at many retail brokerages. That appears to be changing fast. Fasterexecution environments, higher market volatility, and growing client protectionrequirements are pushing firms to build risk controls directly into their coreinfrastructure - not bolt them on after the fact.AlexeyKutsenko, CEO at TFB, said the findings track closely with what the company hasobserved across its own client base."Overthe past decade, the brokerage landscape has become materially morecomplex," he said. "Risk management is no longer a back-officefunction, but a... priority tied to scalability and long-term resilience. Firmsmoving ahead are investing in tighter execution, real-time client visibility,AI integration, and greater automation across risk workflows."The reportargues that the most resilient brokerages now run risk management as acontinuous system - think real-time alerting, predefined thresholds, andautomated responses to abnormal trading behavior - rather than relying onperiodic manual reviews. The distinction matters. During volatile marketconditions, the firms that break first are typically those whose systems failunder pressure, not those with bad products.Scaling Up Without BlowingUpGrowth iscreating its own set of problems. One in four brokers surveyed said scalingoperations was their biggest challenge, a figure that reflects how rapidlyrising transaction volumes are stressing infrastructure built for a smaller,simpler business. The reportnotes that firms successfully navigating this pressure typically share a fewcommon threads: flexible infrastructure, advanced liquidity aggregation, andautomated risk controls. The ability to absorb volume spikes withoutcompromising pricing quality or execution speed is increasingly what separatesfirms that can expand into new markets from those that get stuck firefighting. The scalingchallenge is especially sharp for brokers pushing into regions such asSoutheast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where infrastructurelimitations and regulatory fragmentation add layers of complexity that more established marketsdon't face to the same degree.AI and Liquidity BridgesLead Tech SpendingWhenbrokerages were asked where they planned to invest in technology for 2026,artificial intelligence came out on top at 28%, followed by liquidity bridgesat 20%. AI-driven risk management tools, automation, social trading, mobileapplications, and big data analytics made up the rest of the top priorities.On theoperational side, AI-driven tools are also increasingly being used to supportaccount management, help sales teams prioritize high-risk accounts, and improvethe consistency of internal decision-making.Liquiditybridges ranked second in spending intentions. As TFB detailedlast November, thepush toward consolidated platforms that combine execution, analytics, and riskmanagement in a single environment has been gathering momentum, with major techproviders racing to build what amounts to an all-in-one operating system forbrokers. Earlierthis month, AlchemyMarkets integrated TFB's Trade Processor into its trading infrastructure toautomate liquidity management, risk controls, and regulatory reportingsimultaneously .Compliance Hardens Into anOperational Function"Regulatoryreadiness ensures both client trust and operational sustainability,” TFB's COOVladimir Viuchejskiy, added. “Advanced tech combined with skilled teamsmitigates risk and positions firms as market leaders."Regulatorycompliance ranked fourth among broker concerns, but the tone in the reportaround this topic suggests it deserves more attention than the raw percentageimplies. Brokerages are under rising pressure from regulators, bankingpartners, and liquidity providers to demonstrate structured reporting, clearaudit trails, and documented risk controls, regardless of whether localregulation formally requires it.Theautomated reporting angle is gaining traction as a practical fix: lastJuly, TFB partneredwith TRAction to let brokers auto-report directly through their tradingplatform, coveringmajor regulatory frameworks including EMIR, MiFIR, and ASIC rules. Kutsenkonoted at the time that "reporting and compliance remain among the mostimportant challenges our clients face.” This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.