The wealth management industry must step up its technological game to ensure fully-satisfied clients, panellists warned at a recent breakfast briefing held by this publication.

The wealth management industry must step up its technological game to ensure fully-satisfied clients, panellists warned at a recent breakfast briefing held by this publication.

However, while digital channels are pushed to the forefront, panellists said wealth managers must not ignore clients’ individual needs, pushing the use of big data for analysis, and not letting technological avenues overtake all manual interactions with customers.

Speakers talked to industry figures at the briefing titled “How mobile are your advisors? How engaged are your clients?”, held at the Grange City Hotel in London on Thursday, 6 March.

Sponsored by Objectway Financial Software, a supplier of multi-channel, multi-device financial planning, advice and portfolio management tools, the panel discussed the new value-added advisory processes driving client experience, engagement and efficiency.

The participants were Shaun Crowley, UK sales director of Objectway; Sebastian Dovey, managing partner and co-founder of Scorpio Partnership; Gurpreet Garcha, partner at Gulland Padfield; and Wendy Spires, PR and communications consultant at Bulletin.

Chaired by Bruce Weatherill, chairman of ClearView Financial Media and CEO of Weatherill Consulting, the panel discussed the importance of bringing top-of-the-range apps and technological performance to clients at a time where tech-savvy has become “tech-normal”, according to Dovey.

The demand for a superior mobile advisory platform in wealth management comes as clients start to compare it with the digital experience they receive in all areas of their lives, Spires said.

While Crowley stated that a key trend in business advisory models is the mechanisation of processes, Garcha warned that technology must be implemented in the right way, at the right touch-points in the client journey to ensure the best client experience.

A more rigorous approach to understanding client views

To do so, she highlighted the importance of private banks and wealth managers using a more sophisticated approach to capturing client needs to create a consistent service experience, an area Gulland Padfield sees institutions across the industry making determined efforts to improve.

“Banks, we find, can afford to be a lot braver. Clients see these conversations as a real investment in the relationship. At the same time, a structured client engagement programme gives wealth managers a view of where in client relationships they add the most value and the opportunities to deepen them,” Garcha said.

When dealing with subject matter as important as financial security, Spires argued that there is “a massive potential for wealth managers to connect with clients on an emotional basis”.

Crowley added the use of the right tools could ensure a consistent systematic process, increasing the efficiency of advisors, allowing them to spend more time developing strong client relationships within a regulatory compliant framework.

Dovey reinforced the dichotomy that can occur between clients and advisors if there is no communication of needs. Stating Scorpio’s research findings, while clients may only want to be contacted in emergencies or for a specific event, advisors expect to contact their clients between four to five times a year in person.

Don’t expect manual to go away

Despite emphasis on technology’s importance, panellists stressed the manual process is not ready to retire yet, still standing at the forefront of some clients’ desires.

Talking of the “civil war” between the manual and mechanical processes in wealth management, Dovey said relationship models require manual intervention integrated with a mechanical solution.

Crowley highlighted that the level of clients’ wealth can affect the amount of manual guidance they appreciate, with UHNW individuals wanting “a bit of TLC”.

However, apps on tablets help such interactions embrace digital, enriching the client experience while ensuring consistency of suitable advice, whatever the channel, and the most effective use of advisor’s time, Crowley argued.

With self-directed platforms like Nutmeg on the rise, and clients conducting personal research into firms and investment opportunities online, the independence granted by technology can occasionally distance an individual from their wealth manager.

“Clients are looking for a guided approach that combines the efficiency of self-direct, and the services of the non-digital side too. They get very frustrated when the two don’t join up. Then you’re exiling clients into the self-direct space which is a shame, because they will need you,” Dovey said.

“Technology is a supplement rather than a substitute,” added Garcha, telling the audience about Gulland Padfield’s research among HNWIs and UHWIs which found “the surprising resilience of the old-school channels”, with some clients still appreciating a printed report and a phone-call.

Embracing social media

To explore a technological touch that still engages clients on an emotional level, Spires discussed the innovative use of a mezzanine social media platform by a wealth management firm Bulletin works with. Allowing relationship managers to invite clients and prospects into a VIP social media space, they can discuss en masse a particular investment theme or product, she said.

This model gives clients an opportunity to prepare questions in advance, making the interaction as profitable as possible in an age where the time of both the client and the advisor is a limited entity. Analysis of social media use and trends, using big data, can then allow firms to better target their advice for clients, Spires argued.

Crowley mentioned how social media has created unexpected avenues for wealth management advice. He discussed the use of Facebook amongst older generations, becoming loyal members of Groups shared with friends, which could be used by the industry. He said the social media site should be seen as a “touch-point from where you can draw people in to your own digital environment”, rather than a sole platform from which to do business.

Words of wisdom for both new and established private banks

Taking place in the same week as Scoban’s private banking licence grant, the panellists were asked by an audience member what advice they’d give to the firm.

“I think a private bank starting today would be in a fantastic position, purely because it can pay to be the last to the party,” said Spires, discussing how a new bank would be without “a patchwork quilt of legacy systems”.

Crowley hoped that a new bank would want to embrace new digital channels to offer a truly differentiated advisory capability and client experience.

Garcha emphasised the importance of banks instigating infrastructural change to help fully embrace mobile delivery as well as improving client engagement.

“While progress has been made, we still see a gap to close in banks becoming truly client focused and aligning all areas of the institution around the client voice. Delivering a strong client experience and plugging in technology in the right way, for the right client segments, is a big part of that,” she said.

“Technology doesn’t replace the advisor, it changes the advisor. The industry has to change. The industry’s been brilliant at changing over the past century. It’s just at the moment that it’s a bit stuck in its ways,” Dovey added.

To see other WealthBriefing events in the pipeline, click here.