A digital approach to wealth management can maximize future returns

The landscape is shifting as wealth management firms competitively use customer preference insights to differentiate themselves within a sector in which one-size-fits-all investment portfolios had traditionally been commonplace.

A large portion of the HNW customer base, especially those who are younger (82% of HNWIs are under 40) or those in Asia-Pacific (60% of HNWIs), look for digital channels to fulfill their wealth management needs and they say they are not averse to receiving wealth advice from non-traditional sources.^[1]

Firms have begun to use analytics to increase wallet share by up-selling and cross-selling investment products to customers most likely to show interest. Clients’ historical buying patterns, behaviors, and lifetime value are studied to find the best fit regarding products and services. For example, JP Morgan Chase augments its wealth and asset management offerings with data analytics applications, and over the past two years the bank rolled out initiatives including You Invest, a digital investing app with free trading, a digital portfolio insights tool for financial advisers, and Finn by Chase, a mobile-only banking service.^[2]

Likewise, HSBC, as part of its exclusive Jade proposition for high-net-worth clients, has enhanced digital experience capabilities for its Hong Kong clients with mobile apps for concierge services and access to its Easy Invest app for instant securities trading.[3]

Models are being developed to study unstructured data covering client profiles, behavior, and transactions with insights used to predict client behavior and then provide more relevant individualized services. Vancouver-based FinTech firm, Responsive, raised more than US$1 million in investment capital to grow its hybrid wealth advisor solution to help banks and private managers predict client behavior and risks.^[4]

Wealth managers are beginning to feel the game-changing impact from FinTech startups, and tremendous opportunities may lie ahead through digital wealth management collaboration. The industry is coming to embrace robo and hybrid advisory services, and now artificial intelligence (AI) tools are beginning to make their presence felt.

AI’s role in financial advice is an area to watch – with predictive analytics tools from Salesforce and IBM already beginning to support advisors with task automation.[5]

Swiss multinational investment bank UBS invested in San Francisco-based robo-advisor startup SigFig to target new customers through digital options for wealth management. SigFig enables established firms to offer digital services such as low-fee automated wealth management and a portfolio tracker that allows users to sync external accounts — 401(k), IRA, and brokerage.^[6]

Analytics-based wealth management solutions

Source: Capgemini Financial Services Analysis, 2019

The benefits of developing a digital approach range from customer experience to operating model efficiency and profitability. Customer loyalty will improve as big data and analytics are used to predict customer behavior, and insights are used to increase investments.

Wealth management firms will be able to provide a BigTech-like customer experience with respect to personalized product and service offerings through a more holistic customer view.

As wealth firms explore partnerships with BigTechs to leverage customer data, new revenue streams and geographies will open.

For these and many other reasons, wealth management firms must continue their digital transformation journeys to remain competitive. By implementing a successful digital strategy, firms can ensure they lead the innovation journey and enjoy a larger slice of the growing market pie.

To learn more, feel free to get in touch with me on social media.

[1] Capgemini, “Wealth in the Digital Age,” March 8, 2016, https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/wealth_management_in_the_digital_age_2016_web.pdf.

[2] American Banker, “JPMorgan Chase’s Mary Callahan Erdoes: The Most Powerful Woman in Finance,” September 23, 2018, https://www.americanbanker.com/news/jp-morgan-chases-mary-callahan-erdoes-the-most-powerful-woman-in-finance-for-2018.

[3] https://www.hsbc.com.hk/investments/products/stocks/easy-invest-app/.

[4] Betakit, “Responsive Raises $1.1 Million To Help Wealth Managers Predict Client Behavior,” September 14, 2018, https://betakit.com/responsive-raises-1-1-million-to-help-wealth-managers-predict-client-behaviour/.

[5] Investopedia, “How Fintech Is Disrupting Wealth Management,” Barclay Palmer, April 24, 2019, https://www.investopedia.com/tech/how-fintech-disrupting-wealth-management.

[6] Financial Planning, “UBS tightens the relationship with tech developer SigFig,” August 29, 2018, https://onwallstreet.financial-planning.com/news/ubs-tightens-relationship-with-tech-developer-sigfig/.

Abhishek Singh

Expert in Wealth Management and Investment Management

Abhishek provides Wealth Management domain leadership for clients, bringing to the table an understanding of the latest trends and strategies in the industry as well as Capgemini collaboration with industry-leading partners, to provide innovative solutions in Wealth Management.