The mass of data which is now an ineradicable feature of business life - especially in finance - can be a challenge, but when analysed for patterns and connections, can open doors to profits. This is the world of "visual analytics".

Along with many other aspects of life these days, the wealth management space is one that is in danger of being buried in data. However, there is a far more positive message for harassed wealth managers and clients: all that data can be profitably exploited by finding patterns.

There is no doubt that hyperactive regulators with their constant generation of new rules, customers with their demands for digital channels, and plain old market gyrations produce a lot of noise. There is certainly no problem of a lack of data out there – quite the opposite. But if handled well and intelligently, this information can give private banks and other organisations a competitive edge.

This is the kind of argument made by Qlik, a Pennsylvania-headquartered business serving 37,000 clients worldwide; the US firm describes itself as a global leader in what is called “visual analytics” – the process of spotting previously unseen patterns in data that can help decision-making. One definition of visual analytics is that it is the science of analytical reasoning supported by interactive visual interfaces. (The language of this industry does not quite match that of Shakespeare and Milton.)

Qlik caters to an array of businesses from wealth managers through to firms operating in the airline industry. For example, in October, LSG Sky Chefs, the world’s largest provider of in-flight services, agreed to use the Qlik® Sense system so it could get a more detailed insight into data regarding potential merger and acquisition targets.

On the wealth management side, Qlik has, it says, worked for more than 10 years with major wealth managers. One such client it can disclose is Australian banking group Westpac. Qlik says it has found a number of areas where visual analytics can add value, such as helping managers get a clearer idea about whom they should talk to on a particular day, such as by highlighting which clients are most affected by a move in a market. Qlik says it can also help a wealth manager know how a client’s portfolio would be most affected by an event such as a sudden drop in stocks, prompting discussions about a smart trading idea; it can also open up ideas for targeted research based on how a client’s portfolio is set up or historical trading patterns. Recent dramatic market shifts, such as the shock rise in the Swiss franc in January, for example, will have affected portfolios of some clients considerably – it will be a big advantage to have actionable information from such a move in a client’s hands.

As Duncan Ash, senior director, Global Financial Services at Qlik puts it: “The quickest benefit wealth firms can get from visual analytics is to cut through all the complexity they are faced with, and narrow their focus to the people and portfolios which need the most urgent attention - helping the advisors react faster, and giving the customers a better service.”

Another benefit of visual analytics, Qlik says, is that it can blend client relationship management, call logs and trading systems into a single view of a client. This can also simplify the view a manager will have of a client and save valuable time and effort, which when compliance burdens are hurting wealth managers’ margins, is extremely useful.

Data, data everywhere
The ascent of firms such as Qlik is a part of a broader story of how technology firms are working to handle the headache of enormous data generation in today’s global marketplace while spotting trends and patterns that might be turned into money. And developments such as the rise of so-called “robo-advisors” – a term relating to platforms that automate decisions such as asset allocation – are also putting a premium on how to handle lots of information.

Qlik may not be a household name such as JP Morgan or UBS but in its own way it is part of the ecosphere not just of modern financial services, but the wider commercial world. Recent figures suggest demand for its business is rising. In October, the firm said it anticipates total revenue growth of 10 per cent to 11 per cent on a reported basis and 21 per cent to 22 per cent on a constant currency basis for the full year 2015. Its clients are from all sectors, with new additions such as the Abu Dhabi Police Department, Four Seasons Health Care, Georg Fischer B.V. & Co. KG, The Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY, Ingram Micro Distribution GmbH, Tucson Medical Center, and UN Women, among many others.

When Qlik spoke to this publication recently, it said it was carrying out work with UK banks around new Basel regulations and the issue of intraday liquidity, for example. Other regulatory changes in the pipeline that will affect clients and wealth managers, such as the European Union’s MiFID directive, due in 2017, are also likely to add to the business load.

So what other benefits does visual analytics bring?
There are also compliance and reputation payoffs in the visual analytics approach, the firm says, because it gives managers throughout a business more data to help them follow the highest standards of conduct and to be on the alert for threats as they emerge.

And perhaps one of the sharpest benefits, Qlik reckons, is clients get a kick out of seeing their complex financial lives made simple and put into a nifty digital platform – this also helps to educate clients and make them more confident in their decisions.

Qlik also argues that its approach cuts out waste and reduces operational risks. For example, creating internal or external reports by hand is a chore that soaks up a lot of time and money and creates the danger of errors.

There are risks with a complex, baffling or clunky spreadsheet full of data – one small error can cascade into a major one. Qlik says its analytics platform delivers common data sourcing and core measures, whilst delivering automated periodic or on-demand reporting tailored for each advisor or client base. 

Spotting useful patterns in data – and being able to put those insights to work rapidly – is not always about making money, of course. Such insights even have their uses in fields such as security and risk management. The ability to spot patterns in data even has examples from the field of sports – number crunchers in the world of baseball, made famous by Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball – can get an edge in team selection. Visual analytics, it seems, is very much a part of the modern world, and wealth managers have only just started to feel the impact. 

“The quickest benefit wealth firms can get from visual analytics is to cut through all the complexity they are faced with, and narrow their focus to the people and portfolios which need the most urgent attention - helping the advisors react faster, and giving the customers a better service," the firm adds.