Private banking digital platform

View from the conference: time to change InvestCloud recently attended and spoke on a panel at the Private Banking Conference in London. Here, our European Head of Sales, Andrew Reid Thomas, discusses his thoughts and highlights key trends raised at the conference.

One core theme came up throughout the day: wealth management needs to change.

Speaking on a panel with representatives from Citi Private Bank, Pilatus Bank and UBS SmartWealth, we identified two major pressures affecting this need for change: the push for digital platforms and the emergence of a new demographic.

The mass affluent and millennials Many at the event believed that the current way of operating does not meet the specific requirements of millennials and the growing mass affluent market segment.

There is a massive difference between catering to high­net­worth clients and meeting the needs of the mass affluent.

Serving the mass affluent requires more emphasis on education and to ensure a flexible service for a larger audience, for a start. This is hard to achieve without having to pull in more resources and advisors to cope with demand.

For millennials, it is about communicating on their terms. The wealth management sector has traditionally been behind the curve when it comes to offering the client portals, digital platforms and financial mobility the next generation of investors want. Wealth management is beginning to recognize the need for on­demand client communication and client reporting, but many have yet to properly execute this.

The consensus was that wealth managers need to adopt digital to cater to changing demographics – but what does digital look like for the sector and its clients?

Designing digital “Going digital” means a lot of different things. In wealth management, it’s about the need to deliver all services – from advice and client reporting to executing investment activities – online with a highly designed and personalized client portal.

Implementing digital platforms is the first step. Going beyond that, it’s about ensuring that wealth managers can educate and assist clients through ‘storytelling’ and personalized experiences.

While some robo­advisors work on a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ basis for determining risk and giving advice, wealth managers are in a better position to create more interactive digital experiences that encourage financial mobility. This would appeal to both millennials and the mass affluent who have both become more mobile in recent years, ensuring better understanding and greater engagement.

Ensuring an intuitive and involved experience is two­thirds of the battle. A fully conceptualized, integrated and successful digital platform also needs to be individual.

Personalization Wealth management has always prided itself on the personal touch. But how can it translate this digitally? How will managers cope with personalization with more mass affluent clients?

The key lies in data. Wealth managers have access to huge amounts of data. If they can harness this and pull it through to their digital platform, they can transform the way advice is given. This means going beyond auto­filling their name on an email blast. It means all advice given is specifically tailored for the individual.

This sounds like it could be a tremendous task for wealth managers to manage due to the sheer quantity of data. But if the data quality is good, digital can automate the entire process – providing better client experiences without increasing resources.

A final significant point was made by one of the delegates: when they attended the same event two years ago, Robos, digital and personas were not discussed at all. At this event, the terms were on everybody’s lips. Digital is here, and it is time wealth managers harness its potential.

The InvestCloud digital platform is developed to ensure that all digital experiences are intuitive, involved and individual. Book a demo at www.investcloud.com/Demo or call us on +1 (888) 800­0188.