Buy-side research budgets flat in H1 2026 as AI spend climbs 40%

Global buy-side investment research budgets were essentially flat in the first half of 2026, rising 0.4% in monetary terms, according to FOW. Over the same window, spending on AI tools inside research functions climbed roughly 40%.

The two numbers only reconcile one way. If the total wallet is static and one line item is up 40%, the money is coming from somewhere else inside the same budget. The FOW framing is a reallocation story dressed as a spending story.

The industries most exposed to that reallocation are the ones that have historically absorbed the bulk of buy-side external research spend: sell-side research, independent research providers, expert networks, data vendors, and the transcript and alt-data layer that sits alongside them. None are named as losing share in the FOW piece, and the article does not break out which categories inside the research budget are compressing to fund the AI line. But the arithmetic constrains the possibilities.

The 40% figure is the one worth sitting with. In a year where buy-side cost discipline has been the dominant procurement message, a double-digit percentage increase on any line item is unusual. A 40% increase is a signal that AI tooling has moved from pilot budgets into the recurring research spend, which is a different conversation than the one most vendors were having in 2024 and early 2025.

FOW's reporting covers the aggregate budget movement and the AI line item; it does not break out regional splits, asset-class splits, or named vendor impact. The next data point to watch is the H2 2026 update, which will show whether the 40% AI figure annualizes or whether it was front-loaded pilot conversion. Either outcome reshapes the 2027 planning cycle for every vendor selling into a buy-side research team.